GI JOE: On The Edge
by SweetAmberkins
Summary: COBRA wants revenge, and they will get it the best way they know how. Personal vendetta's play a part in their decision, but they don't know how stealing two JOE's can truly inspire G.I JOE's wrath. D/OC/SE. AU after movie ending. UNDERGOING REWRITE!
1. FILE  01

It started off bad, hell, really bad. But it was the start of something great. Who knew that when they were transporting NATO warheads, that they'd be in Egypt, receiving a debrief from a General from some unknown organisation. Duke and Ripcord, the only NATO troops that survived the ambush, were now tasked with divulging all information that they knew, and Duke knew a little more than the rest. Baroness was his fiancée, and now he and Ripcord were in on the game that was called G.I. JOE. They were allowed to gain their JOE status once they had passed the course. It was an interesting start to the day, and about to get more interesting. They met the team again, the one the saved their behinds from getting roasted; Scarlett, Breaker, Heavy Duty and Snake Eyes. They were the moderators, the drawn line between G.I. JOE and going back home. Their training was about to start. First order of the day was the shooting range. They suited up, and got their guns. Guns that shot rubber bullets, and they were shooting at holograms of enemies. Scarlett was watching, mentally taking notes. They ran against time, Duke and Ripcord were damn near tied when the buzzer went. Scarlett smiled, about to leave, and Ripcord made her stay.

"Once I have a target in my sight, it doesn't get away." Ripcord stated, looking at the score board and leaning on an obstacle crate, looking Scarlett over.

Scarlett smiled, and pointed a remote at the scoreboard. The timer started again. Ripcord swore, got his gun and started the course again, only to get hit twenty shots in.

"Just so you know, some targets are harder to hit than others." Scarlett joked, stepping over him.

"Well I still think that I got a record." He jumped up and looked at the score board.

"No that's the record." Scarlett pointed out the only constant number on the board.

"Who's that? Snake Eyes?" He said, disregarding him as not human enough to have the high score.

"No, that would be me. I say if you're going to shoot something, kill it. Or take up knitting." She smiled and left, heading to Sgt. Stone a few feet away.

Heavy Duty took them to Snake Eyes, warning them that this was to be man on man combat. Ripcord volunteered to go first, and got taken down in the first three minutes. Duke went next, and Sgt. Stone came to referee. After he saw how Duke took down Snake Eyes in the ambush, his interest was piqued. Snake Eyes was relentless, knocking Duke down every chance he got. Duke got up, every time, and tried again. After fifteen minutes of solid fighting, Sgt. Stone called it a draw and Duke stepped back to catch his breath. Sgt. Stone looked at Duke; no one he ever knew could keep up that long with Snake Eyes. Sgt. Stone questioned Snake Eyes, with intermittent nods from the former to answer him.

"At least we know he's got the stuff JOE's are made of."

A woman, five foot six, blonde, petite, pale with shocking blue-grey eyes stepped up to Snake Eyes and Sgt. Stone.

"Edge. You watched?" Sgt. Stone turned to address her directly.

"I did. I'd like to take them to my course. The blonde is far too cocky." She answered, eyeing Ripcord and Duke boasting between them.

Snake Eyes nodded, agreeing with her.

"Well you'll get your chance. This is just practice. I'm going to check the video. Edge, would you like to join me?" Sgt. Stone asked.

"No thanks, I've seen enough."

Sgt. Stone dismissed them both, leaving Snake Eyes and Edge to their own.

"Don't go easy on the blonde next time." Edge addressed Snake Eyes.

He merely nodded and left. Ripcord was being observant, he saw the girl talking to Sgt. Stone and Snake Eyes. He felt like he knew her, recognised her. He knew he'd always remember a face that had saved his life. She was about to leave, following Snake Eyes lead. He strode over to where she stood, addressing her.

"Afternoon." He stated formally.

She spun around, and looked at him curiously.

"Weems?" she said quickly.

"Hey it is you, Chilli!" He hugged her, picking her off the ground.

She hugged him back, laughing. He put her back down; her smile spread wide across her face and creased her eyes.

"It's actually Edge now, but it's weird that you still remember."

"I'd always remember the name and face that saved my life. Geez, what happened to you after Qatar? You were classed MIA when I got back to the states." Ripcord happened to quickly glance at Duke, sitting on a crate watching.

"Yeah, I got another mission in Russia, and it got kinda messy and the JOE's came for me. I did a lot of training to get in and well, here I am." She said quickly, it sounded almost rehearsed.


	2. FILE 02

Ripcord called Duke over. Duke got up, rolled his eyes at Ripcord and walked over.

"Edge, this is my boy, Duke. Duke, this is the girl from Qatar, the fearless one that saved my butt more than once." Ripcord announced.

Duke looked like he almost knew it was her. Ripcord probably went on and on about this girl saving his life.

"Well someone had to save it, because you weren't watching it." She joked.

"But…yeah, that's true. You grew your hair out? Why? The buzz cut thing suited you, well not that the longer hair doesn't…" Ripcord asked.

"Well change is as good as a holiday they say." She smiled.

"I saw you talking to Sgt. Stone and Snake Eyes over there. What was that about?" Ripcord couldn't contain any curiosity.

"Well I was just saying how…amazed I am that your boy Duke here could stand up that long against Snake Eyes. I was saying I would like to test you both as well." But before she could carry on, Duke cut in.

"Heck, I think we could take anything you could throw at us right now." Duke boasted.

Edge eyed him curiously; she would have to ask Snake Eyes to be more brutal next time. Duke was far too arrogant for her liking; he'd have to be knocked down a couple of notches. She called for Snake Eyes, far on the other side of the training ground, to join her. He strode over silently, nodding for her to carry on.

"These…men think they can take anything I throw at them. I would like to change their minds. Help me out, Snake Eyes?" Edge asked politely.

Snake Eyes nodded, and entered the weaponry for a few seconds and came out with four katanas. He handed her two, and held his at his sides, at the ready.

"Thank you, Snake Eyes." She bowed to him.

He returned the respect, with a moderate bow. As he straightened, she came at him with full force; both the blades were aimed at his vital core. He did his best to deflect her, and the blades clashed hard with sparks. She slid out one blade and aimed it at his legs. He quickly blocked her, with the same move she used. She spun around him, aimed for his back with the hilt of her katana and struck. Snake Eyes bent over, but recovered quickly and swung out backwards for her legs to knock her down. She caught his leg, turned him over, and struck out her katana to his throat. She laughed, and Snake Eyes sprung up. She handed him her two katanas, and he returned them to the weaponry.

"Would you like to change you sentiments yet, Duke?" She asked, conveying her distaste in his previous statement.

"I think I definitely want to try now." He said, winding her up.

"Well, then. Seen as though you think you can still take me, I'd like to take you to my training room." She walked between Ripcord and Duke, leading the way to the training room.

She stopped in front of a door, labelled Training Room 5. After seeing how quickly she could take Snake Eyes down, they were slightly nervous.

"This is my room, designed by me for my training. You're both welcome to take a practice run before taking me on."

Duke and Ripcord eyed each other. Duke was wishing he hadn't said anything about taking anything she could throw at them.

"Well here she is…" Edge keyed in a code on the touchpad and the doors opened, to reveal and huge, dark and empty room.

She ushered them both in and switched on the lights. The room was still huge, ten stories high at least, but not empty. It was filled with beams, every material, every width and length, every angle and direction. It looked like a giant game of pick up sticks. Duke couldn't contain himself, and laughed.

"And here I was thinking it was going to be something threatening. It's a freaking jungle gym."

Edge frowned, and carried on with what she was going say.

"I spent two months making this room. It develops balance and reflexes, which I think is vital…"

Duke laughed again, he couldn't control himself after her introduction.

"Balance and reflexes? Who needs that when you have sonic guns and missiles?"

Ripcord punched Duke to shut him up, but it was too late. Edge was furious at him; she was barely containing her anger. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"You're welcome to practice on the course if you wish. Afternoon." She walked out, leaving the lights on in case they wanted to train.

As she walked past Duke, he noticed her nametag. 'EDGE' her alias, was in bold red letters, and underneath that was a smaller bunch of white letters, 'STONE'. Duke quickly called her.

"Hey, are you related to Sgt. Stone?" He hastened, stumbling over his words.

She stopped and looked back at him.

"Yes." She looked over her shoulder at him and carried on walking, to the control centre where Sgt. Stone was visible through the glass hub.

"And that's why we used to call her Chilli. Damn." Ripcord joked.

"She's related to Stone? Man, we're so in for it now." Duke shook his head, not wanting to think what was going to happen to them now.

"Nah, she's not like that. When I first met her, I'd say she'd do that in a heartbeat. But after Qatar, she grew up a lot. She was a stuck-up brat, but I think she's a woman now." Ripcord stated.

Duke nodded, he hoped Ripcord was right. He didn't want to have to get beaten to a pulp in this pit just to be sent home.


	3. FILE 03

After almost two weeks of training, the day had come. This was the ultimate test that would decide whether or not they would become G.I. JOE or not. To start off the day, they had a briefing with General Hawk. He told them what course they would have to do, and when they were scheduled to do it.

"You have shooting, piloting, driving, combat, tech specs, evasive manoeuvres and survival training. Sgt. Stone is going escort you to your training. Good luck."

Duke and Ripcord were relieved that they had done well in those courses already. A computer behind General Hawk beeped; he spun around, green letters were sprawling across the screen in front of him. He then chuckled slightly.

"Oh, and one more course at the end of the day. Sgt. Stone will let you know more later. Good day gentleman."

Duke and Ripcord left, wanting to ask what the last course was. Sgt. Stone was probably going to surprise them later with a horrible obstacle course they'd never practiced on. They had one hour before their first course started, so Ripcord and Duke took precautionary measures and looked around at all the courses. There was a driving terrain, flight simulator, wind tunnel and a few they really didn't know what they were meant for. Their time for the first test was almost upon them, and they hurried to the shooting range. Scarlett and Edge were already there, competing with each other. Ripcord stood and watched, almost with an open mouth. Duke nudged him.

"Close your mouth Rip, no one wants to see that." Duke teased.

Ripcord punched Duke hard on the shoulder and swore at him.

"Man, I'm not looking at them, look at the score board."

Duke looked at the score board, and saw how closely they were tied. Scarlett was barely one point ahead, and just keeping it that way. Duke and Ripcord watched in awe until the buzzer sounded. Scarlett and Edge relaxed with their guns and high-fived each other.

"Hey, don't take this the wrong way Amber, but maybe one day you'll live up to the grade." Scarlett laughed, putting the gun down on one of the crates.

"Maybe one day Shana, you'd care to come play my game, and see how you fare on my turf." Edge put gun next to Scarlett's and smiled.

"Well thanks for the warm-up. See you later." Edge greeted Scarlett and walked away, just barely greeting Ripcord and Duke.

Scarlett's face straightened out, and called Duke and Ripcord onto the course. After five hours of testing, and passing their courses, they sat on an obstacle crate and waited for Sgt. Stone to take them to the mystery course. General Hawk and Sgt. Stone came down from the control centre, a smirk on Sgt. Stone's face.

"Congratulations gentlemen, your instructors have just passed you in all the tests. Duke, you scored in the top half percent of all JOE's we've ever tested. Ripcord, comparing your score to Duke's, you pass as well. If you get by the next one, I'd be glad to call you JOE's." General Hawk sent Sgt. Stone forward, and he took them to the next course.

They walked past the flight simulator, the driving terrain and the wind tunnel.

"I think Stone's gonna make your day hell. I think we're going to the jungle gym." Ripcord whispered, hoping Sgt. Stone wouldn't hear.

Duke stared at Ripcord. He had no idea what he was twigging onto till it was too late. Sgt. Stone stopped abruptly, making Ripcord and Duke freeze in their steps. Sgt. Stone stepped up to Training Room 5, Edge standing patiently at the entrance. She was dressed in a full black sniper uniform with a double body belt.

"My very little sister is your next instructor. Good luck, you're going to need it." Sgt. Stone ruffled his fingers through his little sister's loose hair before leaving.

She didn't acknowledge his teasing, and carried on as per normal. She addressed them directly, with seriousness in her voice.

"In this job, reflexes and balance are a base fundamentality. Everything else depends on it; shooting, fighting and flying. A quick reflex is the difference between you being a target or merely being in the same area as a bullet. Great balance is between you staying at the top, or making great friends with the pavement."

Ripcord laughed at her last line.

"I'm glad I finally got to tell that one. No one really gets here after Snake Eyes." She pushed open the doors, the lights already on.

"You two can start climbing so long, stop at the second level."

Ripcord and Duke groaned, and climbed. They struggled through and over the bars until they're were at the second level. They stopped, finding a steady bar to rest on.

"This is so middle school. I guess that would make you the school ground bully." Ripcord joked, and Edge laughed.

"What exactly is the point here? Are you just going to tell us to climb all the way to the top?" Duke asked, and Ripcord listened for the answer as well.

Edge reached behind her back, and pulled out two katanas. They were different from the ones she used against Snake Eyes. There was a clear distinction between the two types of metal in the blade, a swerved line separating them. And on them were engraved letters, but they were too small to make out. She used one katana to point out a red button on the ceiling.

"The point here, Duke, is to get to that red buzzer on the ceiling before I get to you. That's it." She hit a button on the wall nearest to her, and they heard a buzzing countdown.

"That's the head start." She smirked.

They scrambled on their feet, running for any bars that lead upwards and towards the buzzer.

"We never had a chance to practice this!" Duke shouted to Ripcord, but Edge answered him.

"I was going to give you the chance to practice. But then you called it a jungle gym and I figured you should've had enough practice from kindergarten."

Ripcord swore at Duke. The buzzer signalled a sharp siren and then Ripcord swore louder. Duke looked back, to see Edge jump onto the first beam from the ground. She ran and jumped between and over beams like a leopard, holding both her katanas out and ready. She gained on them fast, and Duke looked for a faster way out. He looked around; there was a thick metal beam next to him, only anchored into one wall, which came close to the buzzer. Duke jumped onto the beam and it shook under his weight. He started to run on it, timing each step to the bounce of the beam. He saw the next beam, the one that would bring him right up to the buzzer, within jumping distance. He launched, and was knocked back down to the beam from the front, by a hard thud. He sat up, and had a silver blade held to his throat.

"Well done Duke. That was the only shortcut I made."

Duke frowned. He was so close to getting it, but she was obviously faster and better.

"Yeah Duke! That's the way we roll!" Ripcord shouted from the ground.

Duke didn't even notice that Ripcord was taken out, let alone seeing Edge coming for him from the front. He swore under his breath.

"Can you please get off of me now?" Duke asked.

Edge jumped off of him lithely, putting away her katanas and offering him her hand to help him up. He regrettably took her hand, and never looking at her once, proceeded to climb back down. She went to the other side of the room, and jumped down the entire height of the room in three jumps. She landed on the ground before Duke, making him even angrier. Sgt. Stone stood waiting at the bottom next to Ripcord, smiling wide. Edge made her way over to the door, only to get nudged on the head by Sgt. Stone. She slapped away his hand hard, making him laugh. General Hawk stood just outside the door, gesturing her to come over. She made her way over to General Hawk, readying herself for the questionnaire.

"And how did they do?" General Hawk started, handing her the digital clipboard to tally their score on.

"Considering they neglected the chance I gave them to practice, they did surprisingly well for their first time." Edge answered, checking them on the list.

"And?" General Hawk coaxed her on.

"Regrettably sir, they didn't finish. They'd need a lot of training."

General Hawk laughed.

"Can anyone finish when they're up against you? But are they good enough, Edge?" He asked her seriously.

She looked over to Duke and Ripcord. They had been through hell to get this far, and she didn't want to be the one to put the stamp on their passport to go home. She looked over the digital notepad again. They'd need at least 90% to get in. She ticked and signed the list before handing the digital clipboard back to General Hawk

"They're good enough. They're JOE's alright." She smiled.

General Hawk dismissed her, and she made her way over to Scarlett watching from the shooting range. Sgt. Stone chased Duke and Ripcord out of the course, switched off the lights and closed up. General Hawk came over, his face solemn. Duke looked at Ripcord; he knew that Edge had failed them both, and that all this was for nothing.

"Well I just had a word with Edge…"

Duke and Ripcord both held their breath, waiting for the result.

"I'd be glad to be the first to welcome you to G.I. JOE, provisionally of course."


	4. FILE 04

Duke and Ripcord were relieved, and exhilarated, that Edge had passed them on her course. Duke didn't want to have to thank her for it, but Ripcord insisted that he at least apologize for calling her course a jungle gym. Heavy Duty escorted them around HQ, showing them the lower levels. Below the training floors were the living quarters. There were gyms, a cafeteria, crew rooms and anything that they would need would be in the military stores. After showing them around, he showed them to their rooms, right next to each other. They looked around their rooms, and noticed that some of their things were already there. Scarlett, Heavy Duty, Snake Eyes, Breaker and Edge were all their immediate neighbours. Scarlett and Edge whispered quietly between them before going to greet them, to welcome them to the JOE's. Scarlett stood in the passage and Edge in the entrance of her room. They were both kitted out in gym clothes, ready for a workout.

"God, that Duke is such an arrogant, chauvinistic…" Edge started, trying to be quiet about it.

"Geez Edge, he was just trying to get in the JOE's. You were exactly…" Scarlett was cut off.

"Don't you dare say that we're the same! At least I respected my instructors; I didn't laugh them off as idiots."

"You gave me hell, don't you remember?" Scarlett raised her eyebrows at Edge questioningly.

"That's different, we're both competitive woman. And you'd just qualified as an instructor. And we're the same age. They're men, aren't they supposed to be courteous and all that other virtuous crap?" Edge scoffed.

"Well if you want to be treated like a Jane, maybe you shouldn't have been a JOE." Scarlett smirked.

Edge sighed, admitting defeat. Scarlett nodded her to follow her to welcome Duke and Ripcord to the JOE's. Edge rolled her eyes and followed. Heavy Duty and Breaker left Ripcord and Duke just before they arrived. Ripcord smiled wide at Scarlett, and Edge kept her face straight.

"Congratulations boys. Welcome to the JOE's." Scarlett started, and Edge nodded along with what she was saying.

"Congrats guys, make the best of it." Edge stated shortly.

Scarlett tugged Edge by the arm, pulling her in the direction of the crew room before she snapped and punched Duke in the face.

"I think you'd better apologise sooner rather then later." Ripcord told Duke, following Edge and Scarlett to the crew room.

"Why should I apologise? Geez it wasn't that bad, it was a small joke. Not my fault she's got such a bad temper." Duke defended himself.

"You really don't get it? If we were JOE's joking about the same stuff with her, it would be fine. But we weren't even in yet, and you had to put your foot in it." Ripcord shook his head in frustration.

"You were joking with her, why isn't she angry at you?"

"Cause she saved my life more than once, and I saved hers. I lived with her in Qatar for almost nine months, we know each other already."

"Fine, I'll apologise. Don't say I never listen to you." Duke admitted defeat.

As they entered the crew room, they saw almost the entire team there. Snake Eyes was doing a balancing act on his katanas. Scarlett and Edge were running on the treadmills and Heavy Duty was benching some astounding weight. Breaker wasn't working out; he was sitting in the lounge playing chess. Heavy Duty finished his set and got some water, joining Breaker in his game of chess. Ripcord smiled and told Duke to go and bench. Duke did as he was told and got ready to bench. Ripcord offered to spot for Duke, and Duke reluctantly agreed. While trying his best to actually bench press, Ripcord leaned on the bar.

"Rip! Rip!" Duke writhed.

Ripcord nonchalantly lifted the bar and hooked it back up. He left Duke at the bench press and went over to Scarlett and Edge running on the treadmills. Edge saw him coming and left the treadmill and joined Snake Eyes in his balancing act. She plucked two katanas off the wall, weighing them up in her hands and spinning them to find the core of balance. She then proceeded to put the tip on the ground, and lifted herself up an upside down vertical position like Snake Eyes. Duke couldn't pull his eyes from them. Their extraordinary balance, their stamina and strength. Edge and Snake Eyes would mirror each other, if she'd move, he'd move and vice versa. Snake Eyes shifted his weight to one katana, and put the other in the air, Edge following exactly. Duke decided he should apologise to Edge while he could. Duke stood up and went over to the two of them.

"Hey Edge, could I speak to you for a second?"

Snake Eyes dropped to his feet, blindly looking in Duke's direction. Duke looked back defiantly, and Snake Eyes put the katanas away on the wall. Edge stayed on her katanas, merely looking in the direction of Duke.

"You may." She replied coolly.

He swallowed, he felt like he didn't need to do this.

"I'm sorry."

She dropped to her feet, still holding her katanas, and looked Duke in the eyes. He was trying at least to be sincere.

"Sorry for…?" She coaxed him, teasingly.

"Calling your course a jungle gym. It's a lot harder than it looks, and you're really good."

She smiled. She had forced it out of him.

"Thank you." Edge nodded graciously.

"And thank you, for not failing us." Duke added quickly.

She smiled again, a little less than before. She shouldn't tell him what she really thought, but she couldn't help herself.

"This doesn't make me like you anymore than before. But seen as though you're on the team now, I probably shouldn't let you die or anything." She didn't look at him and returned her katana points to the ground and readied herself for balance.

Duke fumed, he was about to say something he might regret, but calmed down before he could say what he was really thinking.

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't." He answered, the anger clearly dripping off of his voice.

Edge heard the anger in his voice, directing her katana points from the floor and pointed them at him accusingly.

"Say what you really wanted to say Duke. I dare you." She scowled at him.

He opened his mouth, about to say what he was really thinking, and then all he saw was red.


	5. FILE 05

The alarms were sounding, and the data screens everywhere were showing a lower level break. He looked back at Edge, her face now calm. She ran out the door, following Snake Eyes and Heavy Duty, her katanas still in her hands. Duke and Ripcord ran to the weaponry, and Scarlett ran towards her room. Edge wasn't going to wait for them. The elevator was still going up, obviously someone else going after the alarm too. She couldn't wait. The elevator shaft structure, like most of the Pit, was made up of exposed metal beams. She grabbed one beam and swung up onto the next beam, and started climbing. She jumped from one to the other, eventually catching up to the elevator. She swung up, and landed on the training floor, where the break was supposed to have happened. She looked around, and saw huge drills poking through the stone wall, but their drivers were no where to be found. She ran into the middle of the training floor looking for the assailants, holding her katanas at the ready. As she scanned over General Hawk's office, she saw them. Cover Girl lay on the floor, holding a digital notepad. A ninja in white, a woman and another man emerged from General Hawk's office. She feared the worst when she saw the woman carrying the warheads.

"General!" Edge screamed as loud as she could, and saw the ninja dressed in white turn around and come after her. Once, when she was getting to know Snake Eyes, they'd often sit in the cafeteria and pass a piece of paper between them. He would at least write, even after his vow of silence. He told her of the ninja in white, Storm Shadow; he was as lethal, if not more lethal than Snake Eyes. She swallowed hard; she could honestly say that he was the one person she was scared of. Storm Shadow jumped three stories down, and landed deftly on his feet. He strode over to her confidently, and she readied her katanas.

"Oh my dear, I think you have me wrong. I do not kill women, but I may hurt them severely." He whispered to her, his voice silken with hidden malice.

"What a way to chat a girl up!" Edge laughed, despite her insides twitching with anxiety. Storm Shadow shrugged, removing his katanas from their sheaths.

"This won't hurt long, adrenaline and endorphins have an amazing way of numbing the pain, making you fearless in the face of death." Storm Shadow said softly, as if it was only meant for her.

Snake Eyes was the only person that could match Storm Shadow, but he still hadn't arrived. A flash of silver flew past her face, and she moved her katanas up as an act of defence. She felt no clash of metal on metal. She looked up and saw Snake Eyes, clashing blades with Storm Shadow. She didn't have time to thank him, she ran instead, keeping her katanas ready for enemies. Whatever Storm Shadow was doing here, he bought weird soldiers with him. They were fearless, running into the line of fire without flinching. She took one out, and another, on her way to a ledge where she could get to the gangway that led to General Hawk's office. She ran and jumped onto an obstacle crate, launching herself high enough to reach the railings. She pulled herself over the railings, only to see the bald man and the woman coming towards her, carrying the warheads.

"Honey, save yourself the trouble and just let us pass." The woman said smoothly.

Edge was lucky enough to have Sgt. Stone as a brother. She got to read the files, the ones that had Duke and Ripcord's statements in them, and everything they knew of the assailants that attacked the NATO troops. This was Baroness that stood in front of her.

"Not today." Edge stood defiant, her katanas out and her stance wide.

"Oh well." Baroness said coolly.

Baroness lunged forward, blocking a strike from Edge's katana and striking her with a hard kick in the stomach. Edge stumbled backward, losing a katana, her focus shifted just for a second from Baroness to the pain. Baroness struck again, this time knocking her feet out from under her. Edge refocused onto Baroness, and kicked her in the stomach, launching her over her head and on the other side of the gangway. Baroness shot up and smiled.

"Ooh, feisty. I like it."

Edge went after her again, this time not waiting for a reaction. She aimed at her chest, and a roundhouse kick from Baroness made her lose her other katana. Edge aimed a kick, a punch and a jab at Baroness, and only the punch got through. Baroness wiped the little blood from her mouth, looking at it curiously. She reacted quickly, sweeping Edge's feet out from under her, making her land with her back on the walkway. Edge was about to spring up, and then she got a sharp kick in her side, that sent her under the railings and falling towards the training floor.

"Pity. She was one of the better looking ones." Baroness carried on walking.

Edge had caught the frame of the walkway and swung under it. Baroness didn't see her fall. She pulled herself back up onto the walkway, running for Baroness. There was carnage on the training floor below, the enemy troops were unrelenting. Scarlett finally appeared, donning her camouflage suit. She was also after Baroness, with a vengeance. Baroness obviously saw her flaming red hair, as a sonic blast almost hit her.

"Move Scarlett!" Edge shouted, as Baroness was aiming another shot at her.

Baroness turned around and saw Edge running across the gangway.

"This time, I'll make you go down." Baroness sneered.

She aimed at Edge. She placed three shots between Edge and passageway. The gangway collapsed under her, and she tried to jump for the passageway. As she launched, she realised she wouldn't make it, she was heading straight for the wall. She braced herself for the hard clash of flesh on metal. Baroness shot down another gangway to deliver her to the training floor. Scarlett had watched helplessly as Edge plunged into the wall and then to the floor. She shot at Baroness, and she returned fire. Baroness went after Scarlett, disposing of her guns in two kicks, and Scarlett quickly returned the favour. Scarlett pulled up the hood of her camouflage suit, and then really fought with Baroness. After getting a brutal kick, Baroness spotted a gallon of car oil and threw it in the direction of Scarlett. Scarlett's suit shorted and she was visible again. Baroness aimed a flying kick at her head, and knocked Scarlett out. As she turned to run out, following Storm Shadow, Duke blocked her path.

"Give them up Baroness. Don't make me shoot you."

Baroness smiled sweetly, but her words held venom.

"Do it. You already killed me once."

Duke didn't lower his gun, but he faltered. There was a blast, a commotion and she was gone. All Baronesses' troops and Storm Shadow had disappeared. The next hour or so was grim, they had to count their injured, their dead and help those who could be saved. Breaker had figured out where they were headed, and probably why Baroness held the title she did. She had married Baron De Cobray, a head scientist of a private science institute in Paris, probably with the intention of using him to arm the warheads.


	6. FILE 06

The injured and otherwise very much hurt G.I. JOE's were all transported to Cairo's El Maadi Hospital for treatment. Edge, even after much of her protesting, was taken as well. She insisted it was merely sprains, and the doctor should attend to more needy patients. They couldn't use the hospital wing of the Pit as there was too much damage. Sgt. Stone told Edge to accept treatment, or he would personally make sure that they tranquilise her. They struggled to get her to accept a drip, and even after all that fuss, Edge was still angry at her brother for treating her like a child. They both knew they would have to move operations after their location had been scouted. Edge lay impatient in her bed, her left leg, arm and head bandaged and a large plaster over a cut over her left eye and cheek. She was still awaiting her x-rays for further treatment. She knew what was coming, why her brother was really here.

"Spit it out, Geoff." She snapped after a solid ten minutes of his pacing.

"We're going to have to move operations. They sniffed us out, and now we're vulnerable."

She knew that well enough but that wasn't all, but he would say the rest soon enough.

"_And_?" She coaxed him.

"You're off of all operations till further notice."

She snapped again, and didn't know what happened next. She threw her bedside lamp at him and missed, swore loudly and then flipped.

"I just got into Alpha! You can't just take me out! I spent three years trying to get in! If you keep me out more than three weeks, I'm going to have to re-qualify!" Edge threw her arms about, and then pain struck through her left arm. She calmed down and Sgt. Stone stared long and hard at her.

"I think it's definitely fractured, at least." She winced.

He still stared.

"I'm sorry. I just…I'm disappointed in myself." She sighed and looked away from him.

"It's not your fault, you tried your best, Amber." He sounded patronising, at least to her.

"Don't feed me that crap Geoff. I know I screwed up, and you don't need to be so condescending."

Sgt. Stone kept quiet, as the doctor came in. He was kind enough to show Edge her x-rays.

"Well all I can see is the fracture in your radius and the sprain in your leg. Other than that, you might have a mild concussion. That cut might not even need stitches." The doctor stated, and called over a nurse to help him.

The doctor and nurse plastered her arm and bandaged her leg, and another nurse cleaned the cut on her face and closed it up again. The doctor left, and the nurse said she was going to get her medication and a crutch. She thanked them, and as they left she turned back to Sgt. Stone.

"Please don't take me off of operations. I'll still be able to work." She pleaded, almost sounding desperate.

"I thought you'd be grateful, get some time off, and maybe catch some sun." Sgt. Stone sounded if that was supposed to make her _want_ time off.

She glimpsed at her skin. Seeing it under these horrible, unflattering fluorescent lights made her look truly sick, like she was meant to be in here for something for more serious.

"Now that you put it that way…" She started, but a loud beep made her pause.

Sgt. Stone pulled out what looked like a very large cellphone out of his pocket, but it was a video conference screen. He accepted the call, and Heavy Duty's deep voice came over the very small speakers.

"How's Edge? Scarlett is worried about her."

Edge smiled, and asked for the video conferencer. Sgt. Stone reluctantly gave it to her.

"Now tell me, Heavy Duty, is it _only_ Scarlett worried about me?" Edge teased.

"Yeah alright, most of us are worried." He laughed; the little speakers almost couldn't handle it.

She knew that by most of us, Heavy Duty actually meant everyone except Duke. She hated her karma for being so damn instant, that's probably why she ended up here. She overheard Scarlett in the background, wishing her well.

"Tell us what the doctor said. Nothing serious I hope?" Heavy Duty asked.

"Well, fractured radius, sprained leg, concussion, no stitches. I'd say that's not serious at all."

"Not bad in the least. Maybe no playing around with your swords for a while, but you can still pilot if need be." Heavy Duty sounded optimistic.

"She won't be able to pilot, she been held off of all operations till further notice." Sgt. Stone cut in. As Edge held the screen, the image scrambled for a few seconds then Ripcord popped up onto the Screen.

"Hey Rip, everything alright?" Edge asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. Can I speak to Sgt. Stone for a second?"

She nodded and handed the screen over to Sgt. Stone. She couldn't help but smile at Ripcord, defending her to Sgt. Stone.

"Sgt. Stone, will all due respect, I think Edge should be allowed to choose whether or not she should take time off or not. You have to stop being the big brother to her, and treat her like a real JOE."

Sgt. Stone stayed silent for a while, and then dismissed Ripcord. He turned to Edge, looking at her seriously.

"What do want to do, Edge?"

"I'll take it easy for a week or so, but I'm not stopping operations."

Sgt. Stone nodded, turning to leave. He stopped at the door and looked at her again.

"I guess I can't protect you forever, but I'm still your big brother, don't you forget that."

She smiled, and nodded quickly.

"I love you Geoff." She looked to him, he smiled back.

"Love you too, sis."

He left her, she was feeling nearly elated at being allowed to stay in operations. She reached over with her good hand and looked through her belongings that came with her to the hospital. She found her pants and felt in them for her communicator. It was like a walkie talkie, except with video call. She dialled Ripcord's code, and it took him a while to answer. He answered, after figuring out how it worked.

"Hey there you are! What happened with Stone?" He asked quickly.

"He let me choose."

"And what did you say?" He asked again.

"I said I'll stay on, but I'll take it easy for a while. Thanks Ripcord, I think he needed to hear that from someone else to make him realise it."

"No problem. I enjoyed it." He laughed.

"Do me a favour, ask Breaker to stream footage to my room from the mission. I wanna see what's happening." She asked, feeling left out of the action.

"Sure thing. Take it easy, Edge." Ripcord hung up, leaving Edge really alone in her room. She still couldn't get over how sickly pale she really looked, but she couldn't help it. To get a tan in the Egyptian sun was like asking to be basted for the vultures. She snapped out of it when the nurse came back, giving her the medication she needed and her crutch. Edge signed her release form and went down to the civilian bus that was taking her to the airfield for the plane heading to the Pit.


	7. FILE 07

The trip to the airfield was boring, uneventful. Edge, along with a handful of other JOE's, were released on the same day. The hour-long trip seemed redundant, when they could've arranged a chopper to take them back in 45 minutes straight from the hospital. When they arrived at the airfield, there was a 20-seater rotor wing plane on the poorly maintained tarmac. At least it was going to be quick from here. She climbed the little flight of stairs precariously, and sat at the back. She closed her eyes, involuntarily, from the relaxing drone of the jet engine. She wondered why she had never thought of being a pilot; it seemed to make her happy and calm. She felt tired, relaxed. She had barely said she was going to take it easy, and she was already winding down. She knew it was something in the drip that they'd given her at the hospital. When she'd finally made peace with the fact she _was_ really going to take it easy, she got a shake on her shoulder.

"Hey, wake up sleepy."

She looked up and yawned. She saw Ace, the pilot, above her head, smiling.

"Hey Ace, I fell asleep?" She rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah, sure did. And we weren't even up that long."

"It's the meds, damn doctors." She yawned again.

"Need some help? Walking down those stairs with a crutch is harder than going up." Ace offered, holding her crutch at the ready for her.

She looked at her crutch disbelievingly. She forgot for those few minutes while flying that she was hurt at all.

"No thanks. It's not that many steps." She insisted, slipping her arm into the crutch and making her way to the door.

She looked down at the little flight of stairs again. She realised that going down the steep little stairs might be harder than going up. At some or other stage, she would have to shift her weight on her crutch and she would stumble.

"Should I offer you that help again?" Ace stood in the back of the plane, watching Edge hesitating at the door.

"Maybe." She shrugged.

Ace laughed as he went to the steps, each step he took made him laugh a little louder. He put her arm around his shoulders, and walked down the steps in time with Edge. He then left her on the last step, lifted her off of it by the waist and put her on the ground. He walked with her all the way to the shuttle elevator.

"You know, you really don't have to be so stubborn _all_ the time." Ace said, but Edge didn't answer.

Ace left her at the door of the shuttle elevator and Edge hobbled into the shuttle by herself.

"Thanks Ace."

"No problem." Ace smiled, and the shuttle doors closed.

She was shuttled down all the way to the training floor, where she had to swap shuttles to get to her room. As she stepped out on the training floor, there were people everywhere. People packing crates, labelling piles of document and strapping rovers to trucks. She guessed they were packing up, moving the Pit, but she didn't know where. Her communicator buzzed, and she scrambled to answer. She saw Breaker on the screen before she answered.

"Hey Breaker. What's news?"

"Edge. I suggest if you wanna catch the action, then you better hurry to your room. They just left the truck."

She quickly snapped the communicator shut and hobbled to the next shuttle to go to the lower floor. She stopped on her floor, and to her surprise, no one was on this floor packing. The gym, cafeteria, and their rooms were exactly the way they left them. She breathed a sigh of relief; she would at least have peace here. She hurried to her room, switched on her computer and logged into the system. Breaker sent a streaming request through as soon as she was in. Three little screens popped up, two were streaming from Duke and Ripcord's accelerator suits and one was from Breaker's computer.

"Hope you don't mind Edge, we switched off your communication to the accelerator suits. Sure you understand why." Breaker said and Edge nodded.

"You already found them?" She stated the obvious.

"Yeah, and they're trying to launch a warhead. We don't know where." Heavy Duty's voice announced, but she couldn't see him.

She didn't speak for the next few minutes; she was watching what was happening with Ripcord and Duke. They were so close to getting them. Edge heard Scarlett's voice all of a sudden; she must've been chasing them too.

"Hey Edge, you're missing the action." Scarlett said, also out of view of Breaker's webcam.

"Yeah, rub it in." Edge whispered angrily.

Edge watched the screen more carefully, and saw the route they were running was headed somewhere important.

"Hey guys, I think I know where they're headed." Edge said slowly, hit by a little shock.

"Where?" Scarlett asked quickly.

"The Eiffel Tower."

Silence was all the response she got. She watched in horror, like Breaker and Scarlett and Heavy Duty, what Ripcord and Duke were seeing. The warhead was launched, and hit the Eiffel tower. It started devouring the tower, stopping abruptly. It was too late. The Eiffel Tower had fallen. Duke's video stream was cut. The silence was almost deafening.

"They have Duke." Scarlett said slowly, but was cut off by sirens.

"We have to go Edge." Breaker said quickly, and the stream cut.

Edge sat in the chair behind her desk, her mouth open from disbelief. The team had probably been arrested, and the Eiffel Tower was destroyed. Another video request cam through, this time from General Hawk. She accepted promptly.

"General." She greeted.

"Edge, you're at the Pit. I'm leaving you in charge while Sgt. Stone and I go get our JOE's out of jail."

"General, I'm sure that I'm not nearly as qualified or as capable as the others…"

"You're more than capable and qualified enough. You have my authority to do whatever you see fit. Good afternoon." General Hawk hung up.

She sat back in her chair; hardly enough time went by for shock to set in when the first signature was needed.

"So much for taking it easy. Sorry bro." She sighed, thinking to herself.


	8. FILE 08

It was a difficult and tiring few days that lay ahead. With Duke missing since the Paris escapade, and the rest of the team searching for him, they were all growing weary. General Hawk had brought back the bad news that the UN wanted G.I. JOE disbanded after the rigmarole in Paris, and that all the JOE's were ordered back to their heads of state with immediate effect. General Hawk added after the bad news, that he still planned to get Duke back, with or without authority. The JOE's stayed behind, backing the General in his plans. With the Pit near packed up, they manned their aircraft carrier and got ready to set sail. Duke's GPS chip in the accelerator suit had somehow been deactivated, and they were now searching blindly. The team stood in the control centre of the carrier, all past the point of tired, looking at the radar screen. They knew they were looking for him at the Polar ice cap, but it was so enormous they'd never find him. They knew Duke wouldn't show up, but they still looked at the radar screen. Then Breaker shot upright, and the team looked at him curiously. He was concentrating on his scope headset.

"Remember there was a tracker on the briefcase with the warheads?" He looked around to the other JOE's for recognition, stumbling over his words.

There was a unison answer of remembrance.

"Yeah, but it's been offline since it was stolen from the Pit." Scarlett said.

"I know, but it's just been reactivated." Breaker answered, heading for his laptop.

Breaker quickly got his laptop out of the bag, punched in some codes and then they saw the flashing green beacon, in the polar ice cap.

"Yeah, my boy Duke!" Ripcord shouted, jumping up.

Scarlett pulled together a quick team to get there before the aircraft carrier. They got a pilot and high-tailed it to the GPS coordinates in a jet copter. The remainder of the team left behind followed their progress, the carrier kicked into high gear to get there quicker. When Scarlett and her team landed, Breaker used a clever device he invented to map out the base. When the carrier neared, that's when the call came for back up. It was getting messy, and about to get messier. Heavy Duty gathered pilots for the SHARC's, adding Edge to the fray.

"You're my second in command. If we split the group, you're heading one half." Heavy Duty spoke quickly as they went down to the lower deck.

Edge nodded, memorising everything he said. She barely kept up with him, still hobbling with her sprained leg, but she had ditched the crutch. He rattled off the strategy and back up plan. They got into their SHARC's, and the floor opened, dropping them into the water. They were caught in crossfire halfway. The enemy had something similar to the SHARC's, but their pilots didn't compare to the JOE's. As Edge and Heavy Duty neared the base, taking out vital structures with sonic missiles, there was a deafening crack.

"What the hell was that?" Edge asked.

"We better get out of here, there's going to be a whole lot of ice and metal coming down on us. Duke, pull back, repeat, pull back." Heavy Duty answered Edge and called Duke back, but Duke wouldn't listen.

"I'm not letting those two get away." He said, his stubbornness coming out.

Edge and Heavy Duty called the squadron back to the carrier, avoiding the ice coming down all around them. They boarded the ship quickly, counting how many SHARC's and troops they lost. The remaining JOE's went to the upper levels, Heavy Duty and Edge headed to the control room to check in on Duke. Scarlett arrived in the control room, saying that the nanomite missiles had been shot down by Ripcord. They listened to Duke, and then the inevitable came over the radio.

"I have them; get ready to bring them in." Duke said to General Hawk, who along with Sgt. Stone, went to the lower level to arrest the Doctor and McCullen.

Heavy Duty, Scarlett and Breaker joined in, and General Hawk gave over his headset for radio control to Edge.

"You call whatever shots there are left." General Hawk said shortly before wheeling after the team.

Edge put on the headset, listening to the sine that irritated her to no end. Duke wasn't speaking; he switched off his headset temporarily. She looked around at the other controllers, too busy in their data to notice her even tapping her fingers on the table. She waited for the docking notice that was supposed to come in. She heard the sine stop, then Duke's voice.

"Permission to bring Baroness aboard, General? We need to see what we can do about the nanomites."

Edge realised she didn't announce herself when she took over radio control, not following protocol.

"Captain Edge Stone reporting. Permission granted, Duke." Edge said quickly, Duke took a while to answer her.

"Now docking." Duke reported back.

Edge sat back in her chair, satisfied that she was done for the day. She felt a hand on her shoulder; she looked up to see Snake Eyes looking down on her. He felt gentler in his touch.

"Hey. Is Storm Shadow…?" She said.

He smiled back at her and nodded. Heavy Duty came in, calling Edge out of the control room. She stood up awkwardly, handed over the radio headset to a lower officer and hobbled out into the passage.

"Yes Heavy Duty?" She asked quickly.

"Seen as though we missed some of the most important action, how about we go read the prisoners their rights?"

"Sounds good to me." Edge smiled, hobbling after Heavy Duty to the holding cells. As they went below deck, they walked past the holding cell that was holding Baroness. Duke stood by, watching as they analysed her and how to get the nanomites out of her system. Edge nodded to him as she passed, and he nodded back. Baroness sat back in the chair, looking tranquil and relaxed.

"Poor woman, I thought she was just a bitch naturally." Edge said shortly as they walked on.

"Sometimes, Edge, all a person needs is a reason." Heavy Duty stated, as they approached the cells that held the Doctor and McCullen.


	9. FILE 09

They decided to make the trip back slowly, giving the team time to rest. They all relaxed on board, but Duke spent more time below deck, keeping Baroness company. Edge had been attending physio everyday for her leg and arm, and her leg was almost near perfect, but Doc insisted she keep the bandage for support. Edge took some time to catch some sun, seen as though everyone else was otherwise occupied. She lay on the upper deck, in as little clothes as she could manage. She wore the crop top she usually wore for gym and short ski pants. She found a towel to lie on in the linen storage, although it wasn't quite a beach towel. With her leg and arm still bandaged, she knew her tan was going to be uneven, but she didn't really care. As she felt the warmth start to reach her core, the sun blacked out. She opened her eyes, and saw Sgt. Stone standing over her.

"You're going to burn." He smirked.

"I thought that was the point." She didn't move, she merely closed her eyes again.

"I suggest you get dressed, were going to dock in half an hour." His voice faded as he walked away.

She sat up and saw the horizon just dotted with land. She sighed and picked up her camouflage pants that were next to her and pulled them on. She headed to her room to get a top, seeing almost no one on the way. She headed to the control room, suddenly shivering from the cold. She braved the cold for a while, folding her arms and then got used to it. She watched the radar and saw the harbour come into view. She went out onto the deck again, this time seeing Scarlett and Ripcord standing were she was just minutes ago. She wasn't going to ask where they were, she didn't really want to know.

"Hey where have you been?" Ripcord asked when he saw her step up next to Scarlett.

"I've been taking it easy, like I said I would. Just catching some sun on the deck."

Ripcord and Scarlett both nodded, agreeing silently that she needed it. Then Breaker, Heavy Duty and Snake Eyes joined them. Snake Eyes stood next to Edge, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a half-armed hug. She responded by wrapping her arms around his waist, hugging him back, and still looking out towards the harbour. They were just a few minutes from docking in Alexandria when Duke joined them. He didn't say much, but he was smiling. Sgt. Stone joined them, telling them the plans from now till the next day.

"First, we're boarding three rotor wings and heading to Pit. There you'll pack your own rooms, help where you can with the operations and then the rotor wings will bring you back. At the Pit, we'll find out where the new headquarters are." Sgt. Stone explained and everyone listened carefully.

The foghorn sounded loudly, and they were about to dock when Duke left again, to go to Baroness. He was hardly gone three minutes; the gangway had just hit the dock when he reappeared next to the other JOE's out of breath.

"What's up Duke?" Heavy Duty asked.

Duke help up a piece of paper, shaking it vigorously.

"She's gone. They're gone. She got out."

Heavy Duty and Edge didn't need to ask who, they quickly got into a microjet and took off, in search of Baroness, Destro and the Commander as they now called themselves. Instantaneously, the alarm sounded on board and people scrambled, searching all the levels. Ripcord took the piece of paper and read it aloud.

"_Sorry Duke, I'm desperate and I know your JOE's can't do anything for me. I know now you can't save me, and Rex is still around, and he can fix me. I guess it was meant to be this way. I think we can call it even now. Ana._" Ripcord read aloud, although he didn't seem surprised from what the note said.

They all stood still, looking from one to the other. They knew this was going to break Duke, he had already hoped for too much. The microjet landed again, Heavy Duty and Edge looking solemn. They didn't have anything to say.

"Nothing? You didn't see anything?" Duke asked quickly, his voice sounded choked.

Heavy Duty and Edge couldn't look Duke in the eyes; they didn't want to see the disappointment. The alarm died down, the crew calmed and Sgt. Stone came back.

"Well after _that_ excitement, I'd hate to ask you all to board the rotor wings. The pilots are ready to go." Sgt. Stone announced, but Duke wouldn't have any of it.

"What about Ana? They're screwing with her mind Stone! We can't let them take her!" He shouted a little too close to Sgt. Stone's face for his liking.

"Another day Duke, when operations are running smoothly again, we'll get her back. But as long as they're out and know where the old Pit is, we're all in danger." Sgt. Stone grabbed Duke by the shoulders, trying to calm him down.

Sgt. Stone pushed Duke in the direction of the rotor wing, and he boarded without much protest. The rest of the Alpha team stood and stared at each other before barding as well, they were going to have to tread lightly around Duke now. They climbed into the plane, seeing Duke sitting in the back, leaning forward with his head hanging. They all avoided him for the time being, while the plane took off and made its way inland towards the Pit. No one spoke while airborne; they were gauging Duke's temper by his body language. No one quite understood what he was going through, nor did they want to ask. When they landed in the Pit, there was a commotion going on already. They were still packing, and even dismantling the inner structure of the base. They watched as beams of metal were loaded into containers and transported by helicopter back to the harbour where the carrier waited. Another rotor wing landed a minute after the Alpha team, carrying General Hawk and more JOE's. General Hawk wheeled his way over to the team.

"We have just got word about our new base. It's going to be in an old military testing base in Turkey."

The team cheered, it sounded promising. They had been hearing rumours of the Pit going to be based in Norway, but now they wouldn't have to worry about the cold or adapting some of their vehicles. Sgt. Stone appeared shortly after General Hawk, dismissing the team to pack their personal belongings. They were only given two hours to pack, and hurried to their rooms. They had to all go down the emergency stairs, as the elevator had already been dismantled. Edge hobbled down the stairs slower than the rest. Scarlett offered to help her, but Edge politely declined. She was the last person from Alpha team on the living quarter's floor. She looked around, the gym, crew room, cafeteria and stores were almost completely gone. She hobbled to her room, noticing the empty boxes already stacked outside her room for packing. She entered the key code for her room, grabbed a box and went in. Her room was untouched, still they way she had left it when they departed for the Artic. She put the box in front of her desk and started unpacking the drawers. She managed with only one arm, but it slowed her down tremendously. When she had finished with her desk, she moved over to her side tables.

"Do you need any help?"

Edge looked up, seeing Scarlett at the door, smiling complacently.

"Maybe just this one time." She admitted awkwardly.

Scarlett grabbed a box, and headed to Edge's cupboard.

"Can I start with this?" Scarlett asked before she opened the doors.

Edge merely nodded and started packing her side tables. Scarlett whipped open the doors, picking up piles of Edge's clothes at a time and repacking them neatly in the box. Scarlett nearly emptied Edge's cupboard entirely, when something caught her eye. A plain brown cardboard box, stuffed at the back of her cupboard behind her stack of shelves. She picked it up, and showed it to Edge.

"Must this go?" Scarlett asked, handling the box carefully.

"It can stay." Edge said quickly, not even looking at what Scarlett was talking about.

Scarlett shrugged, and opened it. She thought it couldn't be that important, seen as though it could've stayed. She saw what she thought must've been a memory box. Inside was decoloured dust that had a flowery smell. A ribbon that must've held something at some or other stage. And photos. Not very many photos, but more than enough for the little box. She saw Edge, a much younger Edge, and a handsome young man, in all the photos. Walking on the beach, standing in front of a military academy with Edge in uniform and a buzz cut, dancing at a full blues ball, kissing the man on the Empire State Building. Scarlett couldn't believe that the Edge she knew was the same one in these photos. Edge jumped up, grabbed the box from Scarlett's hand and tufted it into the box she was packing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Scarlett stuttered.

"It's fine. I'll deal with it." Edge said quickly, but she sounded upset.

"Are you almost done? I can still…" Scarlett asked.

"Its fine, Scarlett. Not much else left to pack. Thanks." Edge said quickly, going into the bathroom and packing her belongings in there.

Scarlett nodded and left. Edge came out of the bathroom, her face now tear stained, carrying a bottle of acetone. She picked the little box up again and put it on the tiled floor. She poured the acetone all over it, grabbed the emergency flint she always had around her neck with her dog tags, and set it alight. She watched it burn, slowly turning all that was brown cardboard to black ash.

"Goodbye." She whispered.

She picked up a marker and tape that came with the pile of boxes, sealed her boxes and scrawled her name in giant letters across the top of them all. She pushed the boxes out of the door with her feet, and went back to the operations floor to see what she could do to help.


	10. FILE 10

They made their way back to the rotor wings with their tog bags that had their essentials in it for the trip aboard the carrier to Turkey. Edge and Duke were both straight faced, not looking or talking to anyone on the way to the carrier. The rest of the team didn't talk to each other either, but exchanged questioning looks amongst them. No one but Scarlett knew what had happened in Edge's room, and she badly wanted to tell Ripcord, thinking he might know something about it. When they landed on the deck, General Hawk told them to pair up for their rooms, as there weren't enough for singles when all the JOE's boarded. Scarlett automatically chose Edge, and Edge merely nodded in agreement. Scarlett led the way to a room that she'd picked, and let Edge pick a bunk. Edge picked the top bunk and threw her bag on the floor in the corner and her katanas at the foot of her bed. She grabbed the bunk with her good arm and swung up onto her bed, not looking at Scarlett. She knew it would at least be a three day trip to Turkey, and she wondered if she could avoid talking to Scarlett for that long.

"I'm going to get some dinner. Do you want some?" Scarlett asked, sounding almost nervous.

"No thanks, I'm good. I'll get something later if I'm hungry." Edge answered, not looking at Scarlett.

Scarlett nodded and left, leaving Edge on the top bunk to do as she pleased. It was already quite late, and they'd probably start the journey in a few hours when all the JOE's were aboard. Scarlett was walking to the cafeteria, her face miserable, when Ripcord came up to her.

"Hey beautiful. What' the matter?" He asked quickly, seeing Scarlett on the verge of tears.

"It's Edge. She's so angry with me. I didn't mean to…she's my best friend, Rip…" Scarlett stopped, sounding like she was about to start crying.

"Hey hey. What happened?" He asked again, sounding sympathetic.

"I offered to help her pack, so I started in her cupboard. I was almost done when I found a little box. It had photos in it, with a guy in them. She…was so angry." Scarlett finished, not sounding so upset anymore.

Ripcord frowned. He remembered Edge was engaged when they were together in Qatar, he remembered her showing off her ring and their photos. But she never mentioned that she'd gotten married in the mean time.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it just a sore spot, she'll talk to you when she feels a little bit better. I think we better just give her and Duke a lot of space."

Scarlett nodded, and let Ripcord guide her to the cafeteria. The next three days for Edge consisted of nothing other than sitting on her bunk, reading some of Scarlett's books and practicing her physio for her leg. They were nearing their new base; they would dock in less than one day according to the intercom that went off every other hour. She sat up and put Scarlett's book about particle physics away, picking up her katanas and her sharpening stone. She looked at the time, it was almost 11pm and Scarlett hadn't come back yet. She shrugged; Ripcord was probably treating her to a little one on one time. She reached for her sheaths and pulled a katana out, looking at the inscription. It was in Japanese, but she could still read it thanks to Snake Eyes insisting that she should learn it.

"_Life is a balance between black and white. You should always be on the grey edge between_."

She smiled at the remembrance when Snake Eyes insisted that if she became his apprentice that she would have to make her own katanas in the traditional Japanese way. She had to fold and heat the metal, toiling for weeks under Snake Eyes' meticulous scrutiny. He had picked the inscription after she was done, which she remembered every day. She ran her sharpening stone down the blade smoothly, trying her best to keep the stroke even against the steel. She kept on concentrating for ten minutes when she heard a knock.

"Come in." She didn't shift her focus from the blade.

The door opened, but no one entered. She noticed a figure at the door in her peripheral vision, leaning against the frame. It was too tall and muscular to be Scarlett, so she looked to see who it was. It was Duke, watching her sharpen her blades.

"You can come in." She said again.

Duke came in and closed the door, sitting down on the only chair in the room. She put away her katana and watched him silently for a few minutes, but he wasn't looking at her.

"Duke? Why are you here?" She asked softly, trying to keep any emotion out of her voice.

"Thank you." He said as softly, and she couldn't stop her mouth from falling open.

"What for?" She couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.

"For letting Baroness on board. I know that you were the one calling the shots over the radio when I was about to dock and you didn't have to say yes, but you did. So thank you."

She leaned back on her bunk, keeping her face straight. Duke looked up at her, waiting for her reaction.

"I was obligated to, rules of war. She voluntarily gave herself over." She said shortly.

Duke watched her reaction; he could see anger boiling underneath the cool reaction.

"What's wrong?" He was trying to keep emotion out of voice this time.

"Nothing…well Scarlett found something…I tried to forget it, but seeing it made me remember it all again."

Duke nodded and got up to leave. Before opening the door he turned to Edge again, seeing the anger still bubbling under the calm façade.

"What did she find?" He asked.

"Bad memories. I should've gotten rid of them a long time ago."

Duke looked at her again; she didn't seem to be the tough, stubborn, little dynamo she was when he first met her. He nodded and left, leaving Edge wondering what was going through Duke's head.


	11. FILE 11

They landed in Turkey the next day, on an island just three kilometres off the mainland. The island had a natural harbour; the island itself was a small mountain range, in which the base was hidden. They boarded some smaller rubber dinghies that took them to the shore. On the shore, right in front of the carrier, was a small ramshackle house that looked occupied. Every JOE stood and waited for General Hawk to come and explain the new layout. He was helped out of the dinghy, finally leaving his wheelchair and using a crutch. He walked over to the little house and opened the door, ushering people through. The little house was just a cover up, a good one, for three shuttle elevators that led through to the base. They supposed this was the harbour entrance, because none of their equipment would get through this entrance. General Hawk ushered the Alpha team into one of the shuttle elevators, and sent it off. They waited, patiently, for the elevator to stop. Judging by the forces in the elevator, they knew it was taking a deep, arched route into the mountain side. When they stepped out, they were greeted by a familiar sight. The base was almost identical to the old Pit, with the exception of the shuttle they had just come in. The next two shuttles came to halt behind them, General Hawk climbing out of one, and then all the shuttles disappeared back up the track towards the harbour.

"Impressive, isn't she? This old base was the original prototype for our base. But with a few exceptions." He pointed out the shuttles tracks that led to the harbour.

All the JOE's looked around, the place was a mess. The air was stale, and a few repairs would have to be made and some serious cleaning, but other than that the structure was almost still perfect.

"General, what about the harbour? Our carrier can't just stand there?" Scarlett asked quickly, the cogs in her head already turning.

"No need to worry Scarlett, we're hiding it with a hologram projection shield."

Scarlett smiled, satisfied that the General's idea was good enough. They walked through the base, observing and making notes of what would need to be repaired or replaced. They worked it out at almost a month to be fully operational again. General Hawk said they would be staying in a few different hotels in the nearest town, and the JOE's were grouped in 'tourist groups' so that no one would be suspicious. They went back to the ship and helped bring in most of the trucks, aircraft and other equipment. It was nearing the late afternoon when General Hawk sent most of the team off to the hotels, ordering them to change into civilian clothes first. General Hawk directed them to a vehicle tunnel that went under the channel to the mainland, another nifty addition. The teams that were grouped for 'tourist groups' each climbed into their civilian minibuses and drove through the tunnel to the mainland. They emerged somewhere on a beach, and followed their respective GPS directions to their hotels. When they entered the town of Silifke, the convoy of minibuses split up and went to their separate hotels. Two minibuses stopped in front of hotel, Scarlett and Edge emerging first out of the buses. They were dressed as closely as possible to civilians, but they didn't have a lot of ordinary clothes, so these were one of the few outfits they had. Scarlett and Edge stood side by side, looking at the hotel. It wasn't a new hotel, but it looked beautiful. There were balconies lining the outside doors for the rooms, and a nice big swimming pool that they could see through the reception window. Scarlett and Edge entered the hotel first, greeted by the receptionist.

"Good afternoon. Name, please?" The fairly old man behind the counter asked.

"Stone." Edge said first, not thinking about what name the rooms were booked under.

"Ah yes, 25 single rooms. Correct?" The old man asked; his face now alight from pure wonder.

Edge counted in her head. She was only guessing, but she was sure that only 24 people came in the buses. She agreed to the number anyway, and the man stacked 25 key cards in front of her.

"The room numbers are on the cards. Good day ladies."

Scarlett and Edge each took half of the pile, handing them to the JOE's as they came in. Four busboys got their bags, taking them and following the JOE's as they went to their rooms. Edge was nearing the end of her pile of key cards, when she saw Sgt. Stone come in the door. She didn't remember him on the bus.

"You're staying here too?" Edge hoped he wasn't going to ruin her chance at a little holiday.

"Yeah, didn't think you could get off that easy did you? I booked the hotel." Sgt. Stone laughed, taking a key card from her and running his fingers through her loose hair.

She shook her head in protest, trying to straighten the mess he made. She gave out three more key cards before reaching the last two. No other JOE's were coming in.

"Have I got the right amount of cards?" Edge asked Scarlett.

"Well I reached my last one, so I'm heading to my room. See you back here in half an hour? We _need_ more clothes." Scarlett emphasized the urgency of the need to go shopping.

"Yeah, I'll see you then." Edge nodded, looking around.

She was almost sure someone was missing. She went outside, to search for a missing JOE, when she saw Duke, standing patiently outside the hotel doors. He wasn't looking for anyone, or doing anything, he was just standing there.

"Duke?"

He turned his head to see Edge at the door, leaning slightly on the wall while speaking. He only noticed now that the bandage on her leg was gone, and the cast on her arm was replaced by an elastic support bandage. Even the cut that went over her eye had almost faded completely.

"When did you get the bandage taken off?" He pointed to her leg.

Edge quickly looked down at her bare leg and laughed half-heartedly.

"Only last night. I begged Doc to take it off. Are you coming in or not? I don't want to stand here all day with your key card."

Duke didn't want to snap at her, he could barely contain himself, but his anger wasn't meant for her so he kept it in. He walked up to her and grabbed a key card, reading the number before heading to the elevator. The bus boys asked quickly what their room numbers were, and their bags would be waiting when they got there. Edge got into the elevator as well, not speaking to Duke. He looked angry enough already and she didn't really want to know why. They got to their rooms, and found them right across the hall from each other. Edge went into her room, seeing her bags already on the floor and fresh towels on the bed. She looked around her room, it wasn't a lot, but it was more than enough for the month that they were booked in for. There was a small bathroom, dresser, two armchairs, an armoire, a full length standing mirror and a queen size bed. Everything was beautifully and tastefully decorated, even the doors that lead to the balcony over the pool were frosted with an exquisite pattern. She took her clothes out of her bag and packed them in the armoire, and hung the towels in the bathroom for later. She went back down to the lobby, Scarlett stood waiting already.

"Ready? I asked the receptionist where some good places were and he called a taxi for us."

"Well I guess I can't get out of shopping. Might as well make it good." Edge thought to herself, letting Scarlett lead her taxi outside the door.


	12. FILE 12

Edge got into her room quickly; Scarlett had given her only thirty minutes to get ready. Scarlett and Ripcord wanted to see the nightlife, if there was any. Why she forced her to come with, she had no idea, but it was better than staying in. She put the dozen or so shopping bags on her bed, and plucked out a random item of clothing from the bag closest to her. Neither Edge nor Scarlett were any good at shopping, they never really had a reason to do so, but with them out in public for the next month, they had no choice. The shop assistants were kind enough to pick out the clothes for them, and they simply paid for it. Edge looked at the piece of clothing she held, she had no idea which way it went on, or what it even was, all she knew was that it was blue. She looked for a label and then she saw armholes and neckline. She huffed and took off her clothes before pulling it over her head. She picked a pair of shoes out another bag, put them on and looked at her outfit in the mirror and gaped. The shop assistant knew her job a little to well. Edge had forgotten what it felt like to dress up for no particular reason. She found herself smiling at her reflection, feeling the way she knew she deserved to feel. She looked in one of the shopping bags for make-up that she'd just bought. She got mascara and lip gloss and slicked them on. She went down stairs, finding no one waiting for her. She stood in the middle of the lobby, wondering if she should go put on more makeup or change her clothes, when another familiar face appeared from the elevator. It was Duke, dressed smartly as well. He walked over to her, his face hiding a small smile.

"You look good." He said to Edge.

She was going to make a quick chirp back, but he meant it well and she felt pretty good at that moment.

"Thanks Duke. Not too bad yourself." She smiled, not really caring about anything other than how good she felt.

Scarlett and Ripcord appeared after a few minutes. They walked around the block and down the street. There were a few café's, pubs, night clubs and restaurants open, and they chose a restaurant and then a pub for later. The evening crowd had just started picking up when Ripcord pulled Scarlett out for an evening stroll. Duke and Edge were left to their own, and more than once. Every night for nearly three weeks, Scarlett would tell Edge to get ready, and they went out. After dinner, Scarlett and Ripcord would disappear and Duke and Edge were left hanging at the last stop of the evening. Duke and Edge tried to keep conversation light, never once brushing onto something serious or something that might start an argument. They spoke about previous missions, worst case scenarios and the worst accidents they'd had while on missions. On night 17, Duke and Edge stood waiting in the hall outside their rooms. They'd greeted already, and left it at that. They waited unusually long, when Edge decided to check in on them. She knocked on Ripcord's door first, and Scarlett answered.

"Oh geez…I'm sorry." Edge spat out quickly and nervously, about to leave.

"No wait. Listen I think Ripcord has food poisoning or something; he's just been throwing up for the last 30 minutes." Scarlett explained.

"Well, we'll see how he feels tomorrow and we'll go out then." Edge suggested, but Duke cut in.

"Well we're dressed already, we might as well go. There's nothing to do here anyway. Tell Rip we hope he feels better tomorrow."

With that, Duke left them and headed for the elevator. Edge said goodbye to Scarlett and headed after him. They headed down the street where they had been on the first night and straight to the pub they had avoided till now. The pub was empty, with only a few patrons that had just come from their daily grind to relax. It didn't look nearly as bad as they thought it would've looked. Duke took a seat at the end of the bar, and Edge followed suit and sat one seat away. He ordered them both whiskeys, straight.

"You don't mind, do you?" He asked.

"I would've had a brandy rather, but whiskey is fine."

Duke sighed; he would never get anything right in this girl eyes. She was constantly trying to push his buttons, but all he wanted to know was why. The bartender slid them their glasses, joking in his thick Turkish accent.

"Hopefully the double will ease the couple up."

"No we're not…we're…colleagues." Edge stated quickly, the bartender nodded and then spoke Turkish to another patron.

"…_typical of the youngsters."_ Edge caught the last few words.

Duke rolled his eyes at the bartender and downed his whiskey in one gulp.


	13. FILE 13

**Warning: some sexiness ensues between Edge and Duke from this chapter until the end of chapter 17. Grin and bear it, it's only four chapters. After that, it's all Edge and Snake Eyes. I still appreciate the comments and reviews, so please don't take this badly.

* * *

**

After a good few hours and a fair few drinks, both Edge and Duke were laughing at nothing. Apparently, the pattern on one glass left a funny water mark on a serviette and they were both laughing at it. Edge looked at her watch and laughed again.

"Uh oh, only two hours till curfew. Big brother will have my head if I'm late. Eleven o' clock or else." She joked.

Duke laughed at the funny accent she'd put on, and helped her off her chair and to one of the booths. As she sat, the bartender came over with a large pot of freshly brewed coffee and two mugs. She poured herself a mug and sipped on it, the warmth almost immediately washing away the stupidity of alcohol. She sighed loudly, and laughed less stupidly.

"Alcohol can even make us JOE's a little stupid." She smiled, and sipped her coffee again.

Duke poured himself a mug, and drank as well. With most of the bar now out of sight and earshot, he decided to talk more seriously to her. With the alcohol, she was more likely to let go of something.

"Are you still mad at Ana?"

Duke's eyes shot open and his swivelled his head towards her. She wasn't goading on him or teasing, she was being earnest.

"No. I'm angry at myself. I thought it would be the same as before, I hoped. But truth is, we would've had to start over, we've changed a lot over these four years." Duke watched Edge as she took it all in, nodding and frowning, looking into her mug of coffee.

"Why did you…do you…hate me so much?" Duke asked, but Edge's reaction wasn't as shocked as his.

"I don't. I'm just…cynical. I have done the same to everyone, and it's a childish habit I should stop. You've just got it worse…and it's not your fault."

Duke nodded, that was only the tip of a very troubled iceberg, he need to know more.

"Tell me, when we left the old Pit, I saw a pile of ash in your room. What was that about?" Duke asked, and he saw her try to avoid his gaze by examining her coffee more closely.

"That was what Scarlett found. The bad memories? I didn't want them anymore…"

"Why were you so mad at Scarlett? Rip told me Scarlett was really upset when we boarded the carrier."

Edge looked at Duke, genuine concern in her eyes.

"I wasn't mad at her, I was mad at myself. I should've let go a long time ago."

"You should tell Scarlett that. But tell me first, what did Scarlett find that was so bad that it actually shook that hard shell of yours?" Duke joked and Edge smiled.

"Well, you'd be the first to know, other than my brother. And this is probably why I'm a little messed up as well. Scarlett found a memory box I made a very long time ago, when I was engaged. It had pictures of my best times with him, Leo, my fiancé. Well, after the trip to Qatar with Rip, I went home to surprise him, only he surprised me more. He said he'd sent me a letter about breaking off the engagement, but I obviously didn't get it. He said he didn't want to be the guy to always make excuses for a wife that was never with him. My house…well his house, was filled with other stuff. And another woman's pictures everywhere. He told he'd put my things into storage, and that he'd help with payment for moving all my things. Well I threw my ring at him, got him in the eye actually, and left. I sold all my things and applied for my next mission in Russia. After that, I think you know the story from Ripcord." Edge finished, sounding a little relieved and watched Duke's reaction.

Duke couldn't believe all of that just came out of Edge's mouth. It sounded like something that belonged in soap operas, not in real life, especially not in Edge's. He processed all the information, trying to think of a good way to respond to everything that she said. That was probably why she never accepted help from anybody either, because of her ex. Edge watched him, thinking of all the horrible things possibly going through his head at that moment. He stood up, grabbed her hand and pulled her up as well. Then he pulled her into a hug, squeezing her around her shoulders.

"You deserved better anyway." He said softly to her.

She smiled to herself. She knew that it was true, but never expected to hear it from Duke.

"Thanks Duke." She said as softly, the smile evident in her voice.

She heard beeping, from Duke's watch, telling them it was time to go. Duke grabbed her hand, and ran out the door, heading for the hotel. It was only four blocks away, and they got there in two minutes, but Sgt. Stone was already waiting for them in the lobby. Duke dropped Edge's hand as soon as he saw Stone.

"You're late." He told them both in a low voice.

"Sorry, Geoff. We lost track of the time. We left as soon as we heard the alarm." Edge started, but Sgt. Stone wasn't listening.

"This is your first warning, try it again and you both get suspended. That's all." He dismissed them, and they headed to the elevator. As soon as the door closed, they both started laughing.

"Try it again and you're both suspended!" Duke laughed, imitating Sgt. Stone, making Edge laugh louder.

When they got out on their floor, they tried to stop laughing while opening their doors. Duke watched as Edge got out her key card and opened her door.

"Thanks Duke. That was…fun." Edge smiled and pushed her door open.

Duke didn't budge from where he stood, and Edge wanted to ask what was wrong. The next she felt was a hand on her stomach, and then Duke was pushing her into her room.

"Duke? What…?" She stuttered.

He closed the door softly, and caught her around the waist. Edge had no idea what was going through Duke's mind, but then he kissed her. He forced his lips over hers, stopping her from pulling away. Edge hadn't, or didn't, think of Duke _that_ way till the very moment. She locked her arms around Duke's neck, pulling him closer to her. He pushed her against the nearest wall, moving his lips to her jaw, and then down her neck, while his hands were exploring her body. Edge gasped when she felt her pants loosen and Duke's hand sliding down her stomach. He moved back to her mouth, placing kisses on her lower lip.

"You deserve better anyway." He whispered to her again, before she pulled him back to her mouth.


	14. FILE 14

Edge woke up earlier than usual. Her head felt hollow and her vision was slightly blurred. She blinked a few times before looking at the time and then out the window. It was four in the morning, and the sky was just starting to lighten. She sat up, remembering that she had gotten hammered at the bar the night before, but had sobered up before getting back. She never got hangovers, and she still really didn't know why. She wasn't ready to think about it, or anything, so early, not with her head echoing her thoughts the way it was. She looked down, she was naked and she couldn't remember why. She sat still, thinking carefully about the night before. She knew it was a very hot night, so maybe that's why she was naked. Then she thought about what she did the night before. She remembered her and Duke going to the bar, getting drink after drink and then trying to sober up before rushing back to the hotel. She remembered a hug, at the bar, between her and Duke. She sat thinking, thinking harder about more details. She remembered she told Duke the story of her ex-fiancé, and that's when he hugged her. She sighed, she felt better now that she knew where the hug fitted in. Her head stopped echoing so much, and all of a sudden a bunch of forgotten scenes flashed into her head. She remembered running back with Duke, him holding her hand and pulling her behind him. Getting the talking to from her brother, she remembered that well. Then she opened her door to her room, and Duke pushed her in and kissed her, pushing her against the wall, telling her she deserved better. And then her own voice echoed in her head, moaning Duke's name. She jumped up, and spun around. Duke was stretched out over her bed, naked, still sleeping peacefully.

"Duke! Duke, wake up!" She whispered loudly, but still softly enough so that the neighbours wouldn't hear her.

Duke woke up, slowly, to hear the persistent whispering that coaxed him awake. He opened his eyes, expecting to see Edge lying next to him. Instead she stood next to the bed, absolutely naked, not bothering to cover up an inch of her body. The only thing that broke her entirely naked body was the arm support she wore for her fractured arm.

"Well…hello." He whispered provocatively, hoping to tempt her back into bed.

She leaned over the bed and smacked him on the shoulder with her good arm.

"Don't you 'well hello' me!" She whispered angrily.

He laughed, trying to grab her hand to pull her back down into bed.

"Come on, it's too early to fight. Get some more sleep."

She took a couple of steps back and looked down at him, sprawled across her bed.

"You better be out of my bed when I come out of the bathroom." She warned him, and slowly walked to the bathroom.

She swore in her head, and her head made sure she heard it ten times over. She closed the door, Duke still hadn't moved and inch to get out of her bed. She sat on the floor opposite the sink, a million thoughts running through her head. Less than three months ago, she couldn't stand the egotistical man in the other room, and now she'd slept with him. Alcohol really could mess with just about anyone's head.

"Bad call Edge, bad call." She whispered to herself.

She reassured herself that they were both adult enough to handle this, and that this would be a one time thing only. She sighed, letting most of her frustration out. She stood up, and washed her face off with some cool water. She took a few deep breaths to get rid of the last of her anger and frustration, and opened the bathroom door. Duke was still in her bed, looking as if he was not quite ready to leave. He braced himself for a slap and a scolding, but it never came. Edge sighed deeply and lay back down next to him.

"I agree. It's too early to fight." She looked at the ceiling, staring blankly at the space in between.

Duke smiled to himself, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her on top of him. She swore and laughed softly at him. He grabbed her upper arms, and pulled her down till their faces were parted by a few millimetres.

"I dare you to say you didn't like it…" He whispered seductively again.

Her face flushed red, and she turned to hide it. No one in five years, maybe not even when she was with her ex, had made her blush, not like this.

"I thought so." Duke whispered, turning her head back to face him.

He pushed her hair aside and pulled her face down to meet his. His one hand kept her from pulling away from him, and the other roamed down her body. It turned out to be the first of many sweltering kisses for the next few hours.


	15. FILE 15

After a few more hours, Edge woke again at a respectable time. Duke got up as well, kissing her again.

"See you just now." He left her, lingering for more.

He left her room and went across the hall to his room, making sure no one saw him leave. Edge got up, showered and got dressed into a sundress. She then headed down to breakfast, seeing Scarlett and Ripcord already sitting at a table. She went up to the table, and asked to join before sitting. Ripcord still looked a little uneasy, but at least he was drinking coffee.

"How do you feel Rip? Scarlett was worried about you yesterday."

Scarlett blushed, and Rip reached across the table and grabbed her hand, smiling at her.

"I feel better. Not 100%, but better than yesterday. Not up to solids just yet."

"What did you guys eat and where? Just so that I can avoid it in future." Edge asked.

"We ate here. And we both had the Cajun stir-fry. So I don't understand why only Ripcord got food poisoning."

Edge frowned. That sounded like an impossible scenario to her. She knew that hotels made batches of food per dozen, at least. She overheard shouting from the maître'd and the manager, swearing at some supposed children.

"Excuse me for a while." Edge stood up and went over to the maître'd.

"Excuse me, but what happened here?" Edge asked, and the manager spoke softer to her than to the maître'd.

"Some children, Madame, must've broken this window. The maître'd was saying that no children have come past this way for the past week, and yet this window was fine two days ago."

Edge examined the hole in the window. She knew that a hole like this had to be made by a high-powered rifle. She excused herself again and went over to Scarlett and Ripcord.

"Just tell me quickly, did you guys sit at that table over there? Did anything strange happen while you were having lunch?" Edge asked, pointing out the table directly below the broken window.

"Yeah we sat there, and come to think of it, Ripcord got stung by a horsefly while we were having lunch, but we couldn't see it anywhere." Scarlett answered, Ripcord nodded.

"Where did it get you, Rip?" Edge asked, her stomach already winding in knots.

Ripcord pointed to his neck, and Edge looked quickly. There was slight blistering, like Baroness had. She stood upright, calming the adrenaline already pumping through her veins, and leaving Ripcord and Scarlett without another word. She ran to the front desk, asking the receptionist for their phone. He hastened to give it to her, and she quickly dialled the new Pit's universal land line. It rang twice when she heard the familiar voice of General Hawk.

"Good afternoon, General Hawk speaking."

She knew that whoever was here from COBRA, they were listening. She went through the languages she knew in her head, thinking which one was the most difficult to listen in on. She picked Russian, a language she and General Hawk knew well.

"_They're here General, COBRA has found us. Don't leave the base, don't send troops for us. We must keep the base undercover. I know there are only twelve JOE's still out of base today, but they must under no circumstance return to the base, they're somewhere in the city and watching._" Edge ran through her words, trying to keep it short.

The stunned silence on the other side meant that General Hawk was shocked, and thinking.

"_We will get a diver to drop a secure weapons cache in the channel, one kilometre from the coastline. Keep us up to date._" General Hawk said as fast, and hung up.

Edge gave the phone back the receptionist, before looking around. She didn't notice anything, except a crunching noise and a pain in her neck. She spun around, seeing a person sprinting across the hotel roof across the courtyard. She grabbed her neck and pulled out a small dart. Before getting a closer look, it dissolved before her eyes into metal dust. She looked down into her palm at the metal dust.

"What's the matter, Edge?"

Edge looked across the lobby to see Duke emerging from the elevator. He walked over to her, seeing what was in her open hand.

"Baroness. She's after us."

Duke shook his head, trying not to think of Baroness.

"She got Ripcord as well, that's why he was so sick yesterday." Edge added.

"What did she get you with?" Duke asked.

"I have no idea. But I have a bad feeling that Ripcord and I are in for a rough time ahead."


	16. FILE 16

Edge tried not to look at Duke, tried to look brave, but she couldn't stop the anxiety creeping up on her from the thoughts of what Baroness had planned. She instantly remembered Snake Eyes teachings, and the adrenaline washed away. She calmly thought about what she should do, before putting her plans into action.

"Here take this. Put it somewhere safe, we might need it later."

Edge poured the metal dust into Duke's hand, and closed his hand around the dust. She turned towards the elevator to leave, and Duke followed.

"Where are you going?" He asked, and she pushed the button on the elevator for the elevator queue.

"If Ripcord is anything to go by, I think I'm going to be down this afternoon. Best I spend it in my room."

The elevator opened in front of her, and she stepped in, Duke following her. She pressed the button for her floor before turning to Duke.

"I don't need someone to look after me Duke, I'll be fine."

"I know. My room is the same way."

Edge blushed profusely and looked away from Duke, hiding her face in her long hair. The excess of spare time she had lately was making her become stupid, making her forget even the simple fact that they stayed across the hall from each other. The elevator seemed to be taking forever to reach their floor, and Edge was beginning to feel dizzy and nauseous. The effects were already kicking in.

"You don't look so good." Duke said, but Edge didn't hear him.

When the doors opened, she ran out the elevator, her key card already in her hand and the other hand covering her mouth. She flashed the key card through the lock, pushing the door open hard and running inside. Duke ran after her, making it into her room just after she got into the bathroom. He walked in cautiously, hearing her throwing up in the bathroom, and swearing every other chance she got. He looked around the room for somewhere to put the metal dust, and saw a wooden jewellery box on the dresser. He opened it, and to his surprise it was empty. He poured the metal dust in the jewellery box, and heard Edge switch on the bathroom taps, no longer swearing. She walked out of the bathroom, her face shiny from fresh sweat. She tried to make her way to her bed, but she could barely stand properly. Duke rushed over, picked her up and carried her over to the bed, placing her down gently on it.

"Well at least we know _she_ doesn't do anything halfway." Edge joked, even through her chattering teeth.

Duke felt her forehead, and she was burning up. He pulled the thin covers over her, in a vain attempt to regulate her body temperature and delay the shock. Familiar voices came down the hallway, growing progressively louder, and then they stopped. Duke spun around, seeing Ripcord and Scarlett standing at the door.

"What happened? Geez, Duke…" Ripcord started, gesturing to Edge, and Duke ushered them in, closing the door behind them.

"She got hit with a dart, apparently you got one too Rip. That's why you were so sick yesterday and why she looks so bad now."

Scarlett's eyes shot open, and she looked where Ripcord got hit yesterday. Sure enough, there were little blisters forming around the spot.

"Edge got the dart, but it somehow dissolved." Duke added, showing Scarlett to the jewellery box.

Scarlett walked over to the jewellery box, and examined the metal dust it contained.

"That must be why we didn't find anything." Scarlett said softly, almost to herself.

"Damn, what have they got planned for us Duke?" Ripcord added, sounding irritated.

Duke felt something in his hand, and saw Edge trying to get his attention. He knelt down, listening to her. Her voice was a little shaky, but still clear enough for him to hear.

"I already contacted General Hawk. I told them to stay put."

"There are only twelve JOE's still out. What if we need…"Ripcord started, and Edge cut in.

"General Hawk…sent a diver…with a cache of weapons. It's in the channel…one kilometre offshore…" Edge whispered to Duke, but everyone else heard as well.

"Scarlett and I will get it. Rip, you stay with Edge. At least you know what going to happen in next few hours."

Ripcord nodded in agreement to Duke's plans. Duke and Scarlett left, and Ripcord sat next to Edge at the foot of her bed.

"Damn. This is happening a bit fast for you, isn't it? I took me at least four hours before I even began to feel queasy."

Before Edge could answer, she jumped out from under the covers and ran to the bathroom again, slamming the door shut with a loud bang. Ripcord tried to distract himself from the sound of Edge hurling in the bathroom, trying to focus on _anything_ but that. Then he heard the flush, and the taps go on and off, then nothing else. He went into the bathroom, opening the door cautiously, to see Edge sitting on the floor opposite the sink.

"I think she must've put some type of accelerator in it." She said simply, before hanging her head down again.

Edge was shining from the sweat everywhere on her body, even her dress clung onto her skin and her hair stuck to her face.

"What are we going to do Edge? What does she have planned for us?" Ripcord asked, and Edge merely shook her head.

Ripcord helped her up off the floor, and helped her walk over to her bed. He covered her again with the thin sheets, trying to lessen the shock on her system.

"How are you feeling? Sounds like you got everything out." Ripcord joked, and Edge smiled.

"I feel better; my muscles are starting to ache though. Did this happen to you?"

"Yip, sure did. Better get some sleep; you'll feel better when you wake up." Ripcord consoled her.

Without a second telling, Edge closed her eyes and fell asleep, dreamless sleep.


	17. FILE 17

Edge woke quietly from her dreamless sleep. She rubbed her eyes and looked towards her window. The curtains were open and the sun was setting, making the light filtering through her windows a deep orange. She yawned, stifling it with her hand. She got up and went over to the window, pulling the curtains closed. She then switched on her bedside lamps and went to the bathroom to wash her face off. She looked in the mirror, noticing that her arm felt better. She frowned; clenching her fist closed as tight as she could, and felt no pain. She shook her head; she still felt a little drained, but she wasn't surprised. She pulled her hair back, and looked at the spot where the dart got her. Sure enough, there was the small ring of blisters that she knew was going to be there. She rolled her eyes at her reflection and head back into her room. She was heading to her bed when she stopped dead, seeing Duke sitting in the corner armchair of her room. She smiled when she noticed he was sleeping. He must've dismissed Ripcord after retrieving the weapons cache. She walked over to him silently, touching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Duke? Wake up…" She whispered, shaking his shoulder lightly.

Duke's eyes shot open, and he jumped up in one swift movement, knocking Edge off her feet and onto the bed.

She fell backwards on the bed, her mouth open from surprise at Duke's reaction.

"Uhm…I think you should go back to your room. I'm feeling better, I'm pretty sure I can look after myself from here." She said slowly, making sure he understood what she saying.

When she spoke, he realised who it was that woke him. He smiled, his face relaxing slightly, and stretched out his arms.

"No way. You go back to sleep, and I'll stay here." He stretched his shoulders backwards, inhaling deeply.

"I'm fine Duke, I don't need anymore sleep." She insisted, standing up and looking him in the eyes.

He responded by grabbing her shoulders, forcing her to keep on looking him in the eyes. She gazed back, wondering what Duke was about to say.

"I was worried. Ripcord said it didn't happen so quickly with him. You could've died from the shock." He looked her in the eyes, conveying how serious he was.

Her mouth twitched at the corners, trying to stop herself from laughing.

"Where on earth did you hear that?" She replied, but the humour of her statement broke through her voice.

"Scarlett. She said some cases of severe poisoning show the same symptoms."

She looked away from him for her reply, she knew he didn't want to hear what she was going to say, and she didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes.

"If Baroness wanted Ripcord and I dead, she wouldn't bother with poison. She'd use a bullet the first time round."

She heard him sigh; she knew that hurt him _somewhere_. She waited for him to release her from his iron grasp, but instead he pulled her closer, hugging her around the shoulders. He wove his fingers through her tangled hair, holding her head to his chest. She poked him in the ribs, trying to break the seriousness of the mood hanging in the air.

"You're becoming soft, Duke."

He didn't reply immediately, but held her tight for a while.

"We're on the same team. I'm going to worry about things that happen, I _have_ to worry." Duke pushed her back gently, just far enough so that he could see her face clearly.

"I can see you're not that hard shell you pretend to be, you're just trying to put everyone off from becoming close to you." He watched her as she thought of what to say.

"Hey, I _am_ a hard shell…"She tried, but it didn't sound as convincing as she'd hoped.

"You know, hard shells usually hide small, soft, little creatures in them. They like to think they're tough _because_ they have hard shells…" He smiled, making the scar on his cheek a little more visible than usual.

She looked down, trying to think of a good comeback to that.

"Are comparing me to a mollusc?" She frowned, making the faint silver scar that went over her eye visible too.

He shrugged, pulling her closer again, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. He tilted her head up while in his arms, placing another kiss on her lips. She closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her height. His hands found her legs; he picked her up gently and put her on the dresser. She smiled in the kiss; he responded by letting his hands venture further up under her dress. The next second, she pulled away, pushing Duke down onto the bed and jumping off the dresser. He seemed shocked by her enthusiasm, when he heard Scarlett and Ripcord coming down the hall. He sat upright, and saw Edge straightening her hair out with her fingers. He knew now she wasn't being enthusiastic; she didn't want to be caught by them. Then Scarlett knocked.

"Hey Duke? How's Edge?" Scarlett asked from the other side of the door.

Edge promptly went over to the door and opened it, smiling at Scarlett.

"Hey Scarlett. I'm feeling better thanks…feel like I've just run a marathon, but good otherwise."

Scarlett looked past Edge and saw Duke sitting on the bed. She greeted him, and he greeted back with a slight bite in his voice. Scarlett doesn't seem surprised by his reaction, supposing him and Edge have just had an argument.

"Well, we're going to get dinner. Must we send room service up with something for you?" Scarlett asked both Edge and Duke.

"No thanks. If I'm hungry later, I'll give them a call, but thanks anyway Scarlett."

Scarlett nodded, leading Ripcord away from the door and toward the elevator.

Edge turned to Duke sitting on her bed; she could tell he was a little angry.

"Duke, come on…it was a reflex."

He said nothing in return, nodding once in acknowledgment of what she said. She went back over to him and stood in front of him, he still wouldn't look at her. She picked up his head and made him look at her.

"It was a _bad_ reflex…one I should get rid of."

She picked up his hands and put them on her waist. Duke's eyes led up her body and eventually ended by her face.

"I'm sorry." She smiled at him.

He tightened his hands on her waist, and pulled her down onto his lap. She put her hands on the back of his head, tilting his head up to her face before placing kisses on his bottom lip.

"I knew you'd come round" She whispered bare millimetres away from his mouth.


	18. FILE 18

A week had passed, and nothing had happened yet. They waited, literally, for anything to happen to Ripcord and Edge. They watched what they said, careful not to mention anything with regards to the JOE's, not knowing whether or not _they_ were listening. A week had passed while they waited, with a phone call once a day from General Hawk to address them and keep them up to date, keeping the calls under 30 seconds. One of those phone calls in particular had strict orders that came with them. They were instructed to act like tourists, to the best of their abilities, and they followed orders exactly. Every day they went sightseeing, dining out, and spent the nights on the town. Another day, and another call, General Hawk added that this time spent out of base would be classified as a mission and not as leave. They were relieved to hear that, but they were all itching to get back to the base, and back to _real_ work. They were getting ready again, the four of them, to go out yet again. Edge stood in her room, flipping through the clothes in her armoire. She had worn every item at least once, and she guessed it was time to wear them a second time. She picked out the blue dress she had worn the first time she had gone out while staying out the hotel. She looked it over again, judging whether or not to wear it.

"Ah…it wasn't so bad." She thought to herself, before stripping down and putting it on.

She turned around in front of the mirror, checking it again. She nodded, and put on mascara and lip gloss. She put on a pair of flat sandals and grabbed her key card before heading for the door. She whipped it open, seeing Duke standing outside his own door. She didn't say anything, as Scarlett and Ripcord were already coming down the hall; she just smiled at Duke and closed her door behind her

"Ready for _another_ night?" Scarlett sighed.

They all nodded in agreement, not only because of her question, but the slight irritated tone behind it. They were fed up with acting like tourists. Scarlett and Ripcord led the way to the elevator, Edge and Duke following behind silently. They agreed to a restaurant and a place to go to afterwards, and got ready for the walk to the restaurant. The route wasn't long, but they weren't hurrying for a booking either. They dawdled along the way, Ripcord making jokes and talking to Scarlett, and Duke talking quietly to Edge. Ripcord and Scarlett were talking so much; they barely noticed Edge and Duke lagging behind.

"You look good tonight…" He leaned over and whispered to her, running his fingertips down her bare back.

She shivered and smiled back at him, winking once to show her appreciation of that statement. He smiled back widely, and walked a little ahead of Edge, to make fun of Scarlett and Ripcord in front of them. As Duke reached out to touch Ripcord's shoulder, he collapsed in front of him. Scarlett bent down automatically, checking Ripcord's pulse and breathing. Duke looked back to Edge, where she was a few seconds ago, to see her crumbled into a heap on the ground. He went over to her, picking her head up and checking her heartbeat and breathing.

"Duke…Duke, back off. They're going to activate the nanomites…" Scarlett said loudly enough just to grab his attention.

Duke and Scarlett stood up and stepped back into the street, watching Ripcord and Edge lying motionless on the ground. Ripcord and Edge start gasping for air, like they were being choked half to death. Duke stepped forward involuntarily, but Scarlett held him back. He carried on watching, and they stopped gasping. Then they both stood up, and walked towards Duke and Scarlett. Their faces were blank, completely oblivious to what they were doing. Edge stood in front of Scarlett, and Ripcord in front of Duke. Without any warning, Scarlett and Duke both got a blow straight to the face. When they realised what had happened, they saw Edge and Ripcord headed down a dark alley and out of sight. Scarlett wiped the blood from her nose, and Duke spat the blood out of his mouth, looking in the direction that they had disappeared.

"Baroness has them now…" Duke said blankly, still looking down the dark alleyway.

"I think…I might have a way of finding them…but we need to get back to the base to do it." Scarlett stood upright, looking down the alley as well.

She started running towards the hotel, Duke following five paces behind. She grabbed the reception telephone from behind the desk, not even listening to the protests of the receptionist. She dialled the Pit's landline, and waited patiently. She spoke in clear English, obviously not worried anymore about COBRA listening.

"General. Check the radar to see if there are any unauthorised aircraft passing through this airspace." Scarlett stumbled over her words.

There was silence on the other side, obviously complying with Scarlett's hastened instructions.

"Yes, one…it just fell off the radar…" General Hawk answered, puzzled by Scarlett's request.

"That plane has Ripcord and Edge on it. I guess we can say that COBRA has left the town." Scarlett sighed, disappointed that they'd lost the plane.

"Well, I'm calling all JOE's back to base with immediate effect." General Hawk finished, and hung up.

Scarlett Hung up the phone and gave it back to the receptionist, who was frowning at her profusely.

"I think we should go pack. General Hawk just called us back to base." Scarlett nodded to Duke, and he followed her to their rooms.

She looked around, and opened Edge's door by overriding the code in the lock. She found Edge's bag, packed her things. She went to the jewellery box, and put the metal dust from the dart into a plastic bag. After all Edge's things were packed, she went to her room to pack her things. Then her communicator buzzed, with Sgt. Stone on the other end. She answered.

"We're right outside. Get Duke to hurry up." And he hung up.

Scarlett shook her head and packed faster, supposing Duke was packing Ripcord's things as well. She grabbed her two bags and took them to Edge's room. She called room service to send up bus boys to take their bags. Scarlett told Duke to hurry with the bags, and put them in Edge's room. When the four busboys arrived, they each grabbed two bags and headed to the car that Scarlett pointed out. They got in, and the car sped down the main road, heading to the base. Sgt. Stone turned in his seat, looking back at Duke and Scarlett.

"Now tell me everything you know up to now, and what plans you have."


	19. FILE 19

As soon as I opened my eyes, I knew what was happening, but my brain wouldn't accept it. I could hear that ominous drone of a jet copter engine, and the cold sterility from the metal surrounding me, but that was the extent of my senses. I felt numb; every inch of me was barely feeling all these things that I knew was happening. But I didn't feel worried, not even after I saw _them_. Before me sat Baroness, in her skin-tight black suit, and next to her was Storm Shadow, still in obvious pain from what Snake Eyes had done to him. I knew he was meant to be dead, somewhere in a dark, frozen abyss. But at that moment I wasn't surprised, he was trained to handle these things, probably even trained to haunt anyone from beyond his watery grave. Baroness was smiling at me, probably waiting for me to react, which I couldn't.

"Nasty little buggers, aren't they? What a way to screw up your holiday." She held up a touch pad remote, waving it side to side.

I knew she was talking about the nanomites. But what it was she was waving at me, I had no idea. At least she thought we were all on holiday in Turkey, a relief to me.

"Nanomites, Rex's…the Commander's most wonderful invention. He's worked out most of the side effects, hence why you weren't as sick as the previous Neo-Vipers."

That would make sense, if I could even think properly.

"This little remote here makes you the Commander's personal…plaything. Well, you and Ripcord…" Baroness pointed right next to me, and I couldn't look.

I saw her type on her remote, and then I turned her head freely. Ripcord sat next to me, stiff as a board, looking dead ahead of him. I felt slightly angry, but any more than that I couldn't manage.

"The nanomites, they are everywhere in you system right now. Some have attached to you neurons, hence your senses feeling a little…dull, and others are in your blood, taking precautionary measures against anything that might harm you."

My arm, I noticed, felt better. The nanomites must have fixed the fracture somehow. I know everything she just told me is true, but I didn't feel nervous about what she was going to do with us. I guess she could tell I wanted to ask something, as she typed a little more on the remote, and I could speak.

"Why us? What are you going to do with us?" I asked; my words and voice sounded lifeless, even to me.

"Well, answer number one, you are leverage. You're Stone's little sister and the redhead have gotten especially close to Ripcord. And secondly, you will find out what we have planned for you soon enough."

She didn't know about what happened between Duke and me? That was another relief. I wanted to ask what she had done to me, why I had gotten sick so quickly compared to Ripcord. Maybe I still could.

"Why did I get sick so quickly?" I blurted out; afraid she would stop me from talking any second now.

She smiled, and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess I slipped in too much activator. I'm sorry…" Baroness smiled, and didn't in the least seem sincere.

"Bitch!" I shouted, too quickly for Baroness to stop me.

Her smile dropped into a frown. She looked at the remote, typed in some commands and stood up, walking over to me. She balled her hand and landed a hard blow to my cheek and jaw. I felt all the pain, felt the blood oozing in my mouth, but I couldn't do anything about it. I felt a split on my cheek, somehow closing itself, and the blood running from it. Baroness looked at her remote, and typed in another command.

"Clean your face, I don't want to bring you into COBRA looking like that."

I put my hand to my mouth, wiping the blood away, not looking at my hand afterwards. Then I ran the back of my hand across my cheek, wiping the blood from there, and the cut was gone. Baroness smiled at me, and strode back to her seat next to Storm Shadow. Storm Shadow had been watching me this entire time, too intensely for my liking. But something else was there, not like the Storm Shadow that had cornered me at the Pit in Egypt.

"We have a special mission in mind for you and Ripcord. One that might be your most important mission yet." Baroness stated, looking to the front of the plane.

I noticed something about Baroness; it was something in her eyes. Somewhere behind those eyes, she still looked trapped, held against her will. I looked out the window between Baroness and Storm Shadow, seeing a vast expanse of green rising beneath the jet copter. We sank beneath the green, and then it faded to black. Then light appeared all around us, and the engine drone stopped. Baroness keyed in new commands for me and Ripcord, before standing and walking to the door.

"Welcome to the new base. I hope you enjoy your stay." Baroness led us out into a huge underground cavern, with runoff water running down the walls. Nothing could stop the cold creeping up on me, not even Baroness numbing my senses. She led us further and further down the cavern, taking us to the Commander.


	20. FILE 20

It had been about five months since that night, when Ripcord and Edge left us standing in the streets of Silifke. I had forgotten what she looked like, and it bugged me. I could've looked at her more, memorized _her_, in the time that we were both so arrogant and stubborn towards each other. But I suppose that was the way in which I was being stubborn. Every time I tried to picture her, Ana's face filled my mind. Not the dark-haired Baroness, but my golden-haired angel from so many years ago. I knew somewhere in my mind, this meant something important, but I couldn't think about it yet. Scarlett and I stood on the training room floor, next to Sgt. Stone and Snake Eyes. Sgt. Stone stood in front of Training Room 5, the one that would've been Edge's to design. Snake Eyes and Sgt. Stone nodded once to each other, they were going to show us what they had accomplished in Training Room 5. They had agreed that between the two of them, they would redesign Edge's training room for her.

"Well…here she is." Sgt. Stone keyed in the code and the doors opened.

I remember Edge said that the first time she took me into her training room, as cocky as she was. I closed my eyes and forced it from my mind. I looked at the training room that surrounded me. Edge would definitely approve. This room was three times bigger than her old one, and there was a lot more beams and obstacles. This could've easily been ten times harder than anything she could've ever designed, Snake Eyes obviously wanted to test her.

"I think she'd like it. She'd be training all the time by the looks of it." Scarlett smiled, looking above her at the beams.

I couldn't help but smile, what Scarlett said was true. When we got Edge back, she'd be in here training every spare chance she got. I remembered that I was due in the control centre to talk to Breaker about tracking Edge. I excused myself and headed to the control centre, seeing Breaker still typing like crazy on his computer. I went over to him, looking as if I had an idea about what he was doing.

"Hey, you got something yet?" I asked.

He looked up at me, his eyes wide and wild. Data was flowing across his scope headset, making his left eye disappear behind it. I had asked him that question everyday since Edge went missing, and this was the first time he'd reacted like this.

"Yes, actually. I did get something." Breaker sounded shocked.

My blood went cold, as Sgt. Stone, General Hawk and Snake Eyes entered the control centre and joined our group.

"What did you find, Breaker?" General Hawk asked, looking past Breaker and at the screen.

"Well, I tested the nanomite dart's dust a few hours ago. I though I might've missed something. Well, with the new equipment, we found nanomites, only four of them. But they emit their own frequency, and when I put it into the computer I found this…" Breaker turned from the General to his screen, and found the data he wanted to show the General and Sgt. Stone. I couldn't help but look as well. With the military satellite, he picked up the fine frequency of Edge's nanomites. We watched as the satellite scrolled a global map and then zoom in. The map was heading to America, Washington D.C to be exact. We watched as the city became clearer, and then the obvious target.

"She's in the White House?" I stated blankly.

Snake Eyes looked at me sideways when he picked up on my tone of voice. For the past five months, he'd kept a closer eye on me than usual, unseeing behind his mask. Breaker typed some more codes, and then picked up a foreign signal.

"Wait; there is current live streaming from the White House. A presidential announcement?" Breaker sounded puzzled, and typed in some commands.

The huge screen in front of us flashed on, and everyone around us paused and watched the live streaming. There was President, addressing the press and reporters before him, with a few people in the background, his bodyguards. But what caught our attention was the speech itself.

"And with that my fellow Americans, I feel that we cannot hold James McCullen or Rex Lewis accountable for their actions. There was a higher and more sinister power at play. I would like to extend a formal, presidential pardon upon both individuals, effective immediately."

There was silence in the control centre as the President walked off the stage, with screams of reporters following him. If I wasn't paying attention, we might've missed it.

"Breaker, rewind a few seconds and slow down the playback."

Breaker did as he was told, and ran the video again. As the President left, I saw him again. There was Ripcord, walking right behind the President. If the camera didn't change, if they were one step too far behind, we would've missed him.

"There, there's Rip…" I pointed him out to Breaker.

Breaker looked at Ripcord, and recognised him immediately. I was glad that finding Ripcord was that easy, but where was Edge? Snake Eyes pointed to a woman right behind Ripcord, with long caramel hair. She looked familiar to me, but not like Edge. Her hair was longer now, mid-back, and light brown, but it could've possibly been her. Snake Eyes nodded towards me, trying to convince me silently that it was Edge. Breaker ran her ID photo through facial recognition, and then compared it to the girl. We all watched as the face markers lit up green, confirming what Snake Eyes had pointed out.

"We found them? I can't believe it…" Sgt. Stone said first, happy about finding his little sister.

I couldn't agree with him more at that moment, but what were we going to do now? COBRA had sent Edge and Ripcord into the White House, and they somehow influenced the President to make this apology.

"What now? We can't just walk in there, COBRA has tabs on them." I started, but Breaker cut in before I could finish.

"I have an idea, but it's going to involve a lot of illegal activities." Breaker spun around on his chair and looked at me, Sgt. Stone, General Hawk and Snake Eyes.

"Do it. We'll get authorization later." General Hawk said unflinching.

Now that's what I like to hear.


	21. FILE 21

They tracked Edge and Ripcord for the next few days. Breaker had found a way to get a signal on Ripcord's nanomites, and was now tracking each of them individually. They stayed in and around the White House every minute of everyday. Breaker was breaking the laws he had mentioned to General Hawk, very much indeed. He had hacked into the White House mainframe, and switched security cameras every twenty seconds to avoid detection. Edge and Ripcord were most often standing outside the doors to the Oval office, rarely ever going in. They stood flanking the doors, dead still, for hours on end. What they were being used for, or going to be used for, they had no idea. Breaker watched the IP addresses that were in contact with the White House, and the President, to watch for terrorist threats. Sgt. Stone was sitting next to Breaker in the control centre, watching the data that was popping up, looking for patterns in the IP addresses.

"Breaker, how could you miss this?" Sgt. Stone sounded a little peeved, and Breaker shot upright.

"What did I miss?" He looked at the screen for anything obvious, rubbing his eyes shortly afterwards.

"Look at these IP addresses, they all match, and break contact after thirty seconds every time."

Breaker looked at the screen and selected the matching IP addresses, noticing now that they were the same.

"You're right. They're breaking contact to avoid being tapped. But I can track it in twenty seconds."

As they were speaking, the same IP address they were talking about popped up on the screen. Breaker started typing furiously to catch the thirty second cut-off. The tracker scrolled and zoomed in on the coordinates. The IP address was in the middle of the Amazon, without any civilisation anywhere near the coordinates.

"That could be the new COBRA base." Sgt. Stone looked at the green canopy, trying to spot something extraordinary.

"Well, look who's the one who's contacting COBRA." Breaker sounded smug, and Sgt. Stone looked at Breaker's screen.

The President was the one that was in contact with COBRA. They didn't see that coming.

"Wait, what the hell is happening?" Breaker asked.

"Somehow, the President isn't the President, Breaker."

"But how…is that even possible?" Breaker sounded more confused than before.

Snake Eyes entered the room silently, but made his presence known. Breaker and Sgt. Stone turned to look at him, shooting curious looks between them.

"Do you have something to add, Snake Eyes?"

Snake Eyes strode over to an open keyboard and started typing, his text appearing on the large screen in the control centre.

"_There were experiments a few years back involving identity altering bots, now known as nanomites. A few were recorded to have succeeded, but others failed dismally. The Commander may have very well perfected this procedure with frightening accuracy."_

Breaker and Sgt. Stone looked to each other again and then back at Snake Eyes.

"How did you get this amount of intel? And where?" Sgt. Stone sounded doubtful, in the least.

Snake Eyes mouth twitched slightly under his mask, hiding a smile.

"_I have my sources. Accurate sources." _He typed back on the screen.

"We'll have to get into the White House, somehow get our JOE's back." Sgt. Stone thought out loud.

"Wait, wait, wait, not so fast, something's happening…" Breaker sounded nervous as he watched Edge and Ripcord's markers moving.

The three of them watched, and swapped numerous cameras in the mean time. Edge and Ripcord were heading to the front lawns of the White House. Breaker swapped the camera again and saw an unmarked jet copter on the lawn, a very familiar face standing just beside it with two more mindless looking Neo-Vipers.

"Baroness? Where is she going to take them?" Sgt. Stone asked as he watched.

The two new Neo-Vipers walked into the White House, while Ripcord and Edge boarded the jet copter. Snake Eyes swallowed when he realised what was bound to happen to them. He started typing as fast as his fingers would go.

"_They are going to use them for leverage, to keep us away from the President…from their master plan…"_

Sgt. Stone shook his head and swore loudly. He knew that the reason COBRA had taken them was important, but not this important.

"_We'll need to get them back before then, before their plan has been put into motion." _Snake Eyes added.

As they watched, the jet copter took off and headed south, out of view of the camera. Sgt. Stone stood and walked over to Snake Eyes, looking him sternly in the eyes through his banded mask.

"You're going to tell me what you know, and Breaker, keep a tab on Edge and Ripcord, Baroness is going to take them somewhere important, we have to know where."

Ripcord spun in his chair, keeping an eye on the JOE's as he was told. Sgt. Stone led Snake Eyes to General Hawk's office, to converge and make a plan.


	22. FILE 22

I was getting used to this, going back and forth every other week. Playing bodyguard for the President wasn't as bad as it looked, but it sure became tiring after two weeks of standing still for hours without moving, without sleeping. Getting used to the COBRA way of life was a little hard at first, but it was becoming tolerable. I knew when we got back; Baroness would let me sleep for as long as I wanted before getting a check-up when I was rested. I was starting to think that being in COBRA wasn't as bad as it looked; after all, I was tasked with protecting the President of the United States. Baroness let down some control of me and Ripcord while in the jet copter, allowing us to move our heads and arms. I ran my fingers through my hair, letting it out the plait it was in. My hair was long now, longer than I was used to, because the Commander wouldn't allow me to have it cut. I heard the jet copter engines ease up, and then it dropped below the dark canopy and into the hollow hangar cavern. Baroness quickly typed some commands and handed the remote to Storm Shadow, who had now become her escort since he had healed. He climbed out before us, and disappeared into the hangar.

"I'll give you two some time to clean up and rest. I expect you both in the Junction at 10 in the morning." Baroness looked over our tired faces over once before striding over to the Junction.

The Junction, as I had learned, was the control centre, with all the tech needed for controlling the Neo-Vipers. We would get our check up there, and then before we left for the White House again, we would get programmed for our next two weeks worth of commands. I looked at Ripcord next to me, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah, sleep." Was all I could say.

"Agreed." He smiled back.

We couldn't say more than that in any one sentence, the Commander didn't allow it. We headed to our rooms, following the exact routed planned for us. As I entered my room, I felt my body relax, too much in fact. I spun around, looking into the darkness of my room. The door clicked close behind me, sending my room into complete black.

"Who's in here?" I spoke freely, feeling a little more of senses than before.

The light came on, and Storm Shadow stood before me. I sighed and walked past him, heading for my bathroom.

"Wait, Edge…" He spoke to me, genuine concern in his voice.

"What do you want, Storm Shadow?" I sounded exasperated, at least to my self.

He held up the remote Baroness gave him, waving it side to side. The screen was red, with the words 'deactivated' flashing on it.

"I have to have a word with you, _only_ you." Storm Shadow placed the remote on my desk, within reach for me to grab.

"Well start talking, I want to shower and sleep."

He didn't waste time getting right to the point, not bothering with any small talk.

"They're going to kill you in a month. I don't want to see that happen to one of Snake Eyes' best students."

My head hurt as I remembered my master. I missed him.

"Yes?" I asked; confused about what it was he wanted.

"Well, I thought I could maybe make a bargain with you. You're Stone's sister, correct?"

I nodded, remembering my brother, probably sitting in the Pit trying to track me.

"If I could get you out of this mess…get you back safe…could you help me get into your operation?" He spoke sincerely, somehow I knew he didn't have an agenda; he wanted out.

"It's not up to me. I can try to convince them not to kill you, but other than that is your job."

He nodded, agreeing to my terms.

"As long as you can keep Snake Eyes from killing me, I'll take your deal."

My head filled with memories of Snake Eyes, the most I think I'd ever experienced. He warned me about Storm Shadow, that as a child, Storm Shadow had killed their Hard Master. That was the reason Snake Eyes never spoke, the reason he took that vow of silence. I couldn't let this man into G.I. JOE if he intended doing that to our soldiers.

"Tell me what happened to your Hard Master? That is all I need to know before I can make my decision." I asked.

Storm Shadow's eyes filled with shock and sorrow all at once, before looking at me.

"That is a horrible misunderstanding. Snake Eyes had seen only a fraction of what happened that day. There was so much more. I never _ever_ would have dreamt of doing that to Hard Master, but Snake Eyes believed it so much that he took that vow. I know who killed my Hard Master, and it's the reason why I'm in this _mess._"

I never thought a ninja like Storm Shadow, so resilient and disciplined, could have been so misunderstood. I had to know more than that.

"In this _mess_? Someone in COBRA killed your Hard Master?" I figured out his conundrum quickly.

"Yes. I have to fix matters between my brother and I, I have to explain. But I hope, first of all, that this would suffice for you to make a decision…"

"No, maybe I don't want to leave COBRA. I haven't done a single malicious thing yet…" I started, and Storm Shadow smiled.

"They have you in deeper than I thought." He sighed and strode over to me, taking my shoulders.

"_Everything_ you have done so far is a _lie_. The man you go to protect every other week, is the man that killed my Hard Master." He gripped my shoulders tighter, putting emphasis on what he'd said.

I blinked. I didn't think that I was or even could be possible. The President had an impeccably clean record, not even an outstanding traffic fine.

"Impossible." I scoffed.

He gripped my shoulders even tighter, making me listen even closer.

"The man you protect isn't the President. It's Zartan. He has been altered to look like that with nanomites. You are leverage, to keep G.I. JOE out of COBRA's plan. COBRA gave you purpose, to feel like you belonged."

My head started spinning. Storm Shadow was innocent of what Snake Eyes thought he'd done, and the man who killed their Hard Master was also guised as the President of the United States. I was leverage?

"Help me Storm Shadow; get us out of this mess…"

He smiled, letting go of my shoulders.

"Help me get out of COBRA…"

We stared at each other and nodded, agreeing to help one another.

"In two weeks time, when you go back, that'll be the time to get out. You might not have another chance."

I nodded. I hoped he was going help me like he'd said, and not lead me further down the rabbit hole.


	23. FILE 23

The time was now, the time that they could get Edge and Ripcord back. The team was in a Starfire, the only plane that could reach Washington before COBRA got there. Breaker was tracking them as they flew, keeping tabs on the jet that held Edge and Ripcord. They needed to get to Washington before them, because once they were in the White House, it would be near impossible to get them out without any trouble. Snake Eyes and Duke sat opposite each other, staring each other down. Duke and Snake Eyes were at odds lately, and Duke had no idea what invoked this sense of anger from him. They were a few minutes from Washington, when Breaker looked up from his laptop. He had a worried expression, one that none of them liked.

"What is it, Breaker?" Scarlett sounded wary of the answer that Breaker was going to give.

"They just sent out more security at the White House. I doubt we're going to be able to land anywhere near there without being arrested."

The team exchanged worried looks all around. They couldn't find a place close enough to land, without being accused of being a threat to national security.

"We'll just have to get there earlier, and then make our way to the White House by foot. We're just going to have to take down a lot more guards." Scarlett looked around at the others, seeking approval.

"That might work." Heavy Duty grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it encouragingly.

"Well, that's the only option we have." Breaker still stared at his screen, hoping for a change.

"We're going to have to do it Scarlett's way then." Heavy Duty smiled down at her, and she returned a smile.

They anxiously waited to get to a building near to the White House. They landed about a kilometre away, and had to run the rest of the way. When they reached the White House, Breaker warned them over their headsets that the guards were expecting them.

"This is going to be ten times worse than Paris." Duke shook his head, and carried on forward.

They were approaching the gates, swarmed with tourists and guards.

"This is going to get ugly." Heavy Duty said in a low voice.

They approached the gates slowly, as not to alarm the guards. As they cut their way through the crowd, they heard the familiar drone of a jet copter coming overhead. They all stopped and looked up, and at that second everyone else noticed them. They stood out like sore thumbs, in their military-orientated outfits and gear. The crowd backed away from them, and then the guards noticed them.

"That's them! The terrorists!" One of the guards shouted, and nearly a dozen more ran towards them.

"Brilliant!" Scarlett fumed.

Without hesitation, Snake Eyes came to the front, and took them all down in a matter of seconds, knocking them out cold with cleverly placed jabs. He waved them forward now that the gate was clear. The tourists had run in a hundred different directions away from the commotion, and there was no threat of any collateral. The copter was nearing the ground, and this was the time to strike. As the copter touched down, the doors flew open and out came Storm Shadow and Baroness. Baroness was already armed with a gun in each hand, and Storm Shadow had his two katanas at the ready. Four more Neo-Vipers came out the copter before they saw Ripcord and Edge. Baroness stood back and put one gun away before typing some commands on her remote, and then pointed at the JOE's

"You know what to do, don't let them get in our way."

The four Neo-Vipers, Ripcord and Edge ran forward. Edge didn't have swords as she always did, but was instead armed a semi-automatic rifle that the other Neo-Vipers had. Edge headed for Duke first, and he stood ready. Before she could strike him, Snake Eyes appeared in front of Duke and kept Edge back.

"Don't do this, Edge."

Duke frowned when he heard that unfamiliar voice, and then realised it was Snake Eyes that had spoken to Edge.

"Get her, Duke! Get Baroness!" Scarlett shouted to him, fighting off a Neo-Viper.

He didn't need a second telling, and bolted after Baroness. She was so confident in her Neo-Vipers that she took her time strolling towards the White House, not even taking the time to look around her. He launched forward and grabbed her, earning him a hard blow in the face. He stumbled backwards, and then had his feet swept out from under him.

"How dare you Duke. You don't even have an inkling of what COBRA can do for this planet…" Baroness stood over him, her hard heel on his chest.

"Come on Ana, you can still get out." He didn't move, but feigned submission.

"I can never get out Duke. Not while…" She then swore loudly, and he saw Storm Shadow sprinting towards the fighting horde back at the copter.

Snake Eyes had disposed of Edge's rifle, while Heavy Duty and Scarlett had Ripcord constrained. The other Neo-Vipers were scattered around them, dead or damn near to it. Snake Eyes held his katanas, ready to do their worst if it were needed. Edge lunged forward for a handle of his katana, and he pulled back, wrapping his arm around her chest, with his sword under her chin.

"Come back. I know you're in there." Snake Eyes said to her in a bare whisper.

No one was close enough to hear him say it except Edge. She fought against him, clawing at his arm. He remembered that Edge once asked him, that if something like this should ever happen, that he should do whatever he could to resolve the situation, including killing her. He couldn't even think those words again, now that he knew how much she _really_ meant to him. His arm slid from her chest to her throat, lifting her off the ground, and started to squeeze, in hopes she would stop struggling and pass out.

"Snake?" She wheezed out, the first words she'd said this entire time.

He couldn't let go so easily, she could've been pretending. Storm Shadow appeared in front of him, holding the little remote that Baroness controlled the Neo-Vipers with. It was flashing red, with 'deactivated' clearly visible across the screen. He eased up on Edge enough for her to breathe, but not to get away.

"Snake, he's helping us. He wants out of COBRA."

Snake Eyes let go of her, and she fell to the ground gasping. She turned around and looked up at him, her eyes back to their normal sparkle.

"He's not the way you think he is." She said through fits of coughing.

He looked at Scarlett and Heavy Duty, who had also let Ripcord down. He couldn't make a decision so quickly.

"Cuff him if you want. He understands." Edge stood now and looked at Snake Eyes.

Scarlett handed him a pair of cuffs, and he cuffed Storm Shadow without hesitation.

Duke wasn't having it so easy. He had managed to get out from Baronesses foot, and managed to drag her halfway back to where the others stood, albeit kicking and screaming.

"No Duke! You don't understand." Baroness was screaming as loud as she could.

"You don't understand Ana. I'm taking you back, and I will find a way to fix you."

Baroness stopped struggling for a moment and kept quiet. He thought she was going to go quietly when she screamed again.

"Zartan! Help me!" She screamed.

Duke spun halfway around to see the President standing fifty yards away, yet when he spoke back, he sounded nothing like the President.

"You're on your own now, Baroness." He snickered.

Baroness screamed obscenities at him. Duke smiled and carried on dragging Ana back to his group. He noticed with a shock that Snake Eyes and Edge weren't in the group. Then he heard a sound that he though he'd be able to avoid today. A gunshot pierced the air, and he spun around in shock. At the very place where the President stood moments ago, Edge stood with a gun in mid-air, with his body at her feet. Snake Eyes stood five feet behind her, standing next to the real President. The president stepped forwards and spoke to Edge.

"I never thought I'd get out of there. Thank you, you and your team."

Edge smiled briefly, and then her face fell. In the moments that Duke's attention had broken, Baroness had spun herself out of his grasp and was sprinting towards the jet copter.

"Ana! Ana, no!" Duke was shouting as he ran.

Baroness' face was blank as she flew away; Duke knew that she had some new hybrid of nanomites that were more controlling than before. Duke fell back and stopped running, watching as the copter flew over the city skyline.


	24. FILE 24

They sat in the Starfire quietly. Duke was a little more than just angry. This time he genuinely thought he was going to get Ana to come back, but the Commander obviously had other plans for her. Edge sat next Snake Eyes, his hand resting gently on her shoulder, hiding it under her long brown hair. She had never come to think of Snake Eyes as more than her master, but after everything she'd been through, she knew now how much he really meant to her. She looked around the hold of the plane that she was sitting in, everyone looked a little better. Ripcord and Scarlett were sitting quietly to one side; Ripcord was over exaggerating on something again. Storm Shadow, even though not happy about being cuffed, looked content enough to be out of COBRA. Her eyes fell on Duke, sitting across from her in the corner. She had to say something to him, to make him see a little more hope than what he was thinking of right now. She slid out from under Snake Eyes' protective hand, letting it fall to his side. She went up to Duke and sat next to him. His face greeted hers, his broken faith showing clearly.

"You gotta keep trying Duke. Don't give up on her so easily." Edge tried to sound as sincere as she could be.

Duke sighed and turned his gaze half away from her.

"I saw her, when we were in that hell hole. She was so lost Duke. So lost and trapped at the same time. No one deserves that, not even after all the things she's done."

Duke looked back at her, a small smile on his face.

"You and me…?" He didn't finish that sentence, but she knew what he meant.

"A little bit of a mistake." She smiled, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"But seen as though you're on the team now, I probably shouldn't let you die or anything." She joked, and he knew immediately what she was talking about.

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't." He smiled a half-hearted smile back, but it was enough for her at that moment.

"We're going to take down COBRA, I don't when or how, but when we do, we'll fix Ana, and she'll be _your_ Ana again."

He nodded once and leant back against the cold metal at his back, turning his head again to face her.

"I really thought this time…she'd just trust me and go with me." Duke closed in eyes in frustration.

"What happened there, at the end, that wasn't Ana at all. The Commander has made new nanomites…needless to say; I think she was the first test subject." Edge did her best to console him.

"I know. I could see that too." He shook his head once or twice, trying to forget that sight forever.

"Don't give up Duke, that's all I'm asking."

Duke opened his eyes once again, looking at Edge. She really meant it; she wanted Ana out of that mess as much as he did. That was of some condolence to him.

"Listen; about you and me, I think Snake Eyes kind of knows something. He's been looking like he wants to kill me for the past six months." Duke spoke softly enough that no one else could hear.

Edge looked from Duke to Snake Eyes, seeing what he meant. Snake Eyes sat unmoving, his eyes set on Duke. She smiled a little and turned back to Duke

"He's always been a little…over-zealous and too observant. Don't worry, I'll tell him what happened, and that it was a mistake. After that, I can't guarantee anything."

Duke frowned, but smiled nonetheless.

"That barely makes me feel any better, but thanks."

Edge reached up and squeezed his shoulder again. She smiled a little before getting up and heading over to Snake Eyes. As she sat down, his arm slid up her back and back to its previous hideaway on her shoulder. She leaned her head over slightly touch his hand with her head. He smiled slightly at her touch, responding by gently running his finger across her shoulder.

"I can't believe you spoke, even after you saw Storm Shadow." Edge tried to ignore his hand as best she could, but he persisted.

"I'm willing to make exceptions, after all, it's not everyday I can say I saved the one I love." He whispered to her, brushing her ear with his warm breath.

Edge's face flushed red; she tried to hide it beneath her hair from Duke sitting across from her. Duke saw her face flush red and looked the other way, allowing her and Snake Eyes some privacy. She turned her face to Snake Eyes, eyeing him down even with her flushed face.

"What…do you mean?" She stuttered.

"You know what I mean." He whispered back to her, brushing her hair away from her neck.

Duke knew that they would get Ana back. When or how, or how whole she would be at that time, he didn't know, but he knew what Edge said was true. He couldn't give up yet, he knew he still loved her, and that was more than enough to fight for.

* * *

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